Stepping Swan Lake
by StarStrellaStar
Summary: After her mother died, Bella stopped dancing Ballet. Instead she found comfort in street dance and made new friends. After she got in trouble again, her father decided to ship her off to a Ballet School. "I wasn't that girl anymore. How could he do this to me if he knew very well why I had chosen a new path?" A new school far away from home, new friends and new pointe shoes...
1. Introduction

_**A/N:**___** I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. I know that I have already more than enough stories to work on but this one just has been on my computer for a little while and wanted to be uploaded. I can't promise any regular updates but I will type every now and then ;)**

**Okay, just go on and read- I'll ramble more at the bottom**

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><p><em>Bella Pov<em>

I closed my eyes a drew in a sharp breath. Everything around me seemed to slow down.

One...two...three!

I raised my arms and crouched down to get ready to jump.

I pushed myself of the ground and turned my body for a backward flip.

Flying through the air, I felt my heartbeat stop for a moment.

This was normally the moment when I got ready for the landing. But not this time. It had cost me a lot of rehearsing to finally get the move done the way the guys had wanted it to.

Two sets of strong arms caught me.

Just like that everything around me started moving at normal pace again. The crowd cheered, obviously impressed at the stunt we just pulled and music blared out of the speakers.

_Looking at, looking at, looking at me_

_Look at that, look at how they're looking at me_

Still hovering mid air, with the two guys holding my body up like in a vertical position, I struck the best model pose I could muster in my current state.

The cheering got impossibly louder, causing me to grin widely.

The arms that had been holding up my legs, let go and I quickly got myself in a standing position again.

Felix let go of me as well and started shuffling his feet. When it came to footwork he was a true genius.

I quickly fell in step with him and we continued perfectly synchronized.

He may be a genius, but I was the one who made that genius.

Freezing in pose, both Felix and I threw a cocky glance at our opponents.

There was no way that they got something better up their sleeves.

Grinning I turned to face Felix, who mussed my hair before he pulled me in for a hug. I shoved him off and stole his cap.

My gaze wandered over to the other dance crew and seeing how they were apparently arguing I knew for sure that they were done.

Not that it surprised me. There were no better crew in Phoenix than ours.

Over the music now blared the Dj's voice.

"Give it up for, Bro'Sis. They really heated up the dance floor tonight."

I smiled at his words and sat Felix' cap on my head, while I turned around and returned to the table were our crew had been sitting ten minutes ago.

Meanwhile the rest of my friends was still shoving our victory in the faces of our opponents.

I shook my head at them and hopped onto the back rest of the bench that surrounded the table. Grabbing my drink, I closed my eyes and just let the music pulse through me.

"Hey Bells, why are you not celebrating our victory?" I heard Felix' cheery voice ask.

He sat down in front of me and pushed my legs away so he could lean his head back.

"Hey, watch it!" I hissed at him. My drink had spilled only mere inches away from my legs. I didn't need my clothes to smell even more like alcohol than they did now.

"Bells, are you being emo again?" someone asked and my legs were being moved again.

Dimitri, more or less the boss of the crew, sat down and placed my feet on his shoulders.

I snorted and shot him a glare.

"Ooh, scary," he laughed which resulted in me kicking him.

"Stop the kiddie games," Zafrina complained, throwing herself on the empty spot next to Dimitri and threw her feet on the table.

"Hey Zafrina, put your crow feet somewhere else," Seth complained.

"Crow feet?" Zafrina shrieked. "I'll remind you of that next time you want me to show you some of my moves."

"Aw, come on I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever, asshole."

"Don't be such a bitch, Rina," Jacob laughed, now joining the madness at the table.

I sighed at the antics of my friends, but couldn't help the giggle that escaped me.

Then I noticed that a few people were missing.

"Hey, where are Tyler, Riley and Nahuel?" I asked no one in particular, while I tried to find the three of them somewhere in the crowd.

It was practically impossible, seeing that the club was packed with people.

"Oh, one of those loser dudes couldn't keep his mouth closed. So the three of them took him out to set him right," Jacob replied.

"What did he say?" Felix asked curiously.

"Talked shit about Nahuel's Mom."

"Oh shit," I cursed and tried to get to my feet.

Dimitri helped me and pulled me through the crowd with him.

Someone caught my other hand.

I turned and looked at Seth.

"You shouldn't get yourselves involved," he warned.

"We have to keep 'em out of trouble," Dimitri called back.

We had reached the emergency exit and Dimitri pushed the door open.

The dark lane seemed to be empty.

"Listen man, I know that we're supposed to look out for each other and all but I'm telling you- don't get involved in this. You know how Nahuel has been ever since he found out that his Mom's a..."

He let his voice trail off.

Mainly, because none of us ever really said it out loud. The other reason was that we all heard voices coming from behind the building.

Dimitri's ears perked up and he grabbed my arm once more to walk down the narrow alley.

Seth sighed and I heard him mutter something about 'regret' when he when he caught up with us.

He was most likely right. If the boys weren't able to keep their temper in check, they would most likely get all of us in trouble.

But Nahuel was kind of aggressive these day, which obviously didn't help matters.

We rounded the corner and sure enough we found Nahuel, Tyler and Riley.

The later two were holding some guy in place, while Nahuel kicked him in the gut several times.

"Are you crazy?" I screeched and pushed Nahuel away from the poor guy. I didn't know how many drinks he'd had, but it must have been more than enough judging by the way he was falling to the ground after my little push.

I glared at Tyler and Riley, who had promptly dropped the guy they were holding.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Dimitri spat.

Looking down at the ground I saw the guy trying to get up. He didn't look good. Half of his face was swollen and his lower lip was busted open.

While Dimitri snapped various things at Tyler and Riley, I crouched down to the ground as well.

"Hey, need a hand?" I asked the boy.

He looked up at me and nodded weakly.

I gave him the best smile I could muster and started to help him get up.

"Don't touch him. I'm not done with that fucker yet," Nahuel slurred and shoved me hard enough to make me fall.

"What the fuck, man?" I heard Seth, who now shoved Nahuel away. "Push her again and I'll bury my fist in your face."

"As if. You don't scare me, kid."

"That's okay," I heard Jacob's voice. I turned slightly to see him walking up to us. "I'm sure that I'm scary enough for the both of us."

"Are you turning against me now, or what?" Nahuel asked with narrowed eyes.

"No, we are not. We all understand that you are having a hard time right now and we are all trying to keep you out of trouble. 'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do instead of supporting your aggressive behavior. But when you touch Bella one more time, the friendliness will be gone."

Nahuel opened his mouth to reply but stopped short when we heard the next voices.

"Around the corner officer. That's where I saw them taking him."

"Fuck," I cursed, voicing what everyone was thinking.

"Let's go," Dimitri instructed.

Riley and Tyler started taking off and pulled Nahuel along, who looked like he had been contemplating whether or not he should hit the kid on the ground again.

"Bells, get up," Jacob said and pulled me up.

Dimitri and Seth we're also already running as if their lives depended on it but turned every few seconds.

"Jake, we can't just leave him there," I said, turning back to the guy at the floor.

"We have to Bella!"

"What are you guys doing?" Dimitri hissed.

I pulled my arm free from Jacob and went back to the boy.

"What the-"

I tried to help him getting up, but I never got that far. A tall figure held a flashlight into my face.

"Bella?"

The voice sounded surprised and shocked. I felt my heart beat stop for a moment.

I took a deep breath and put a smile on my face.

"Hey Daddy."

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><p><em><strong>AN:**___** It's short, I know... the next chapter is already done- this was just the introduction. Tell me what you think and if this story gets good responses I'll continue.**

**Like I said before, I probably won't be updating regularly because there are some other stories that I have to type for. But knowing myself I will squeeze in an update here and there. If you're lucky it will be on regular bases. Okay, I gotta go back and type for my other stories, you should check them out as well but not before you left me a review ;) **


	2. Welcome in Washington

_**A/N:**_** Okay, I couldn't wait to upload... I'm utterly bored right now and very impatient so I decided that I could just upload this right now. Besides, the introducing chapter didn't give much away...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Bella Pov<em>

I stared out the window, frowning at the scenery.

Everything was green and it was raining.

"Welcome to Washington, by the way," Officer Mark said to me.

I didn't reply and continued to stare out of the window.

I wasn't really in a good mood.

Not only had my father come up with the most ridiculous punishment ever, but he also made sure that I got a police escort- like I was some kind of prisoner.

Although, I hadn't even done anything. But try explaining that to my dad.

The argument we had two days ago, definitely proved to me that the man just didn't understand that I had changed.

_~Flashback~_

_I threw my bag in the corner and shrugged off my jacket. _

_When I attempted to go upstairs to my room, I was stopped by my father, who had been silent the whole time we sat in the car but just had to open his mouth now._

"_You will not go to your room now. Sit down!" he instructed harshly._

_I reluctantly turned on my heel and sat down on the couch._

_My father took a seat in his arm chair, looking sternly at me._

_For a moment he said nothing._

_Eventually, I grew tired of the silence._

"_Are you going to talk any time soon or are you just gonna continue staring at me all night?" I asked him in annoyance._

_Charlie let out a sigh and rubbed his hands over his face._

"_Bella, I don't know what to do with you," he admitted tiredly._

"_You don't have to do anything with me. I'm fine."_

"_No, you are not. I had to arrest you today, for god's sake," he replied._

"_You didn't have to arrest me- you just did. I told you that I had nothing to do with the whole thing- I only wanted to help the guy," I argued, crossing my arms in front of me._

"_Bella, these are your friends. Do you expect me to believe that you were there to help the person your friends were beating up? Not likely. And let's not forget about the fact that you were drunk."_

"_I wasn't drunk."_

"_Drunk or not, you are under-aged and shouldn't be drinking alcohol. Neither should your friends and you also shouldn't be hanging around in clubs like the one you were at."_

_I scoffed, but didn't say anything._

_Charlie looked at me for a moment before he continued," You've got to understand that this is not the way you should behave. Your mother wouldn't have wanted that."_

_I jumped up from the couch, angrily. _

"_You don't know what she would have wanted. You didn't know her, so don't tell me what she would have wanted. Just shut up and don't talk about her in my presence ever again," I hissed at him and stomped out of the room, my eyes already burning._

_I quickly ran up the stairs and locked myself into my room._

_The next morning I woke up- still pissed at Charlie._

_I rolled out of bed and rushed through my morning routine, before I all but jumped down the stairs and went into the kitchen._

_When I saw Charlie at the table, I froze mid step, not really wanting to be in the same room as he was. _

_I had almost forgotten that it was Saturday, so his presence kind of caught me off guard._

"_Good morning, Bella," he greeted calmly, not even looking up from his newspaper._

_I grumbled something in response, that I didn't even understand properly and then got myself a bowl of Lucky Charms before I sat down on the opposite side of my father._

_That was when I noticed a little brochure on the table._

_It showed a beautiful, castle-like building at the front and the words 'Estelle Étoile Academy'._

"_What is this?" I demanded instantly and threw the brochure back on the table._

"_Your new school," Charlie answered nonchalantly, still not looking up from his newspaper._

_I stared at him, wondering if I hadn't heard him right._

"_What did you just say?" I asked slowly, hoping that I hadn't heard him right._

_Finally, Charlie put that stupid newspaper down and looked straight at me._

"_You didn't honestly think that you'd get away with beating up people, did you?"_

"_I didn't beat anyone- ugh... I don't even know why I'm trying."_

_Charlie shook his head at me, but I couldn't care less. _

"_I'm sending you away."_

"_To this Academy?" I asked him, waving my hand at the picture of it._

_Charlie nodded._

_Snorting humorlessly, I looked him straight in the eyes,"You don't honestly think that I'll go to some nerd school, with school uniforms and all that crap?"_

"_It's not a 'nerd school'. It's a Ballet Academy."_

_I dropped my spoon and tried not to choke._

"_You've got to be kidding me," I said slowly as I looked my father in the eyes._

_He had finally lowered his newspaper and his expression showed me that this was no joke at all._

"_It's either that or juvenile. You can choose."_

"_Jail? What the hell do you want to sent me to jail for?"_

"_You know, yesterday you were lucky that I arrested you. I was only nearby which was why I decided to handle this minor thing, but if it had been any other officer you would be in jail now."_

"_For what? Because of under aged drinking?"_

"_Along with vandalism, violence and robbery."_

"_When exactly should that have taken place?_

_Charlie looked angry now. "You and I both know that this was what you were doing the past year. You've reached the limit and since you never appeared to any of your community service tasks, you are going to be sent away. I called in a favor with the judge and Ms. Jensen was so kind to give you the opportunity to get back on the right path. Either you'll go to this school and graduate there or you'll go to jail for the next six months."_

_I snorted. "Well, then send me to jail."_

"_I don't think so. To motivate you, Ms. Jensen offered to clear your criminal record if you go to the academy."_

"_I'm not going to he academy," I protested._

"_Well, it's too bad that I'm your father and that I already decided that you'll have to go. No discussion- you're going."_

_~End of flashback~_

Just thinking about that made me want to punch something.

I wasn't that girl anymore. How could he do this to me if he knew very well why I had chosen a new path?

He didn't understand me at all and as far as I could tell- he never would.

With a sigh I continued to look out of the window. I had never seen so much green in my entire life.

A sign suddenly caught my eye.

'Welcome to Forks', it read. Didn't sound very inviting to me. Where in the world had Charlie sent me?

"We're almost there," Officer Mark informed me.

I grunted in response.

"You'll like it here. Forks is a really quiet town. Everything has it's order here, which makes it easier for the students of the academy to concentrate on their studies."

Great, just what I needed. In the middle of nowhere with nothing but serious ballerinas around me.

I'd probably already get in trouble if my iPod is too loud.

The car pulled up in a fancy looking parking lot.

With gates and all of that crap. As if I needed it to feel any more like a prison to me.

"So do you need me to take you to the headmistress' office or do you think you can handle it on your own?" Officer Mark asked me when he parked the car.

I looked out the window.

A few paths led away from the big parking lot all of them leading up to the school building.

The large space in front of the building was paved- showing the school's crest on the ground for everyone who happened to fly over this school to see it clearly.

The school building itself was very impressive and yet also intimidating.

It looked exactly like one would imagine a ballet academy to look like. It was more of a castle than a school really. There were even little towers and everything.

"Isabella?" Officer Mark pressed, obviously still waiting for an answer.

"I'll manage," I told him in a clipped tone and got out of the car.

The officer immediately followed suit and walked to the back of the car to open the trunk for me.

I looked around in hopes that none of the students were up already to see me getting out of a police cruiser.

Thankfully, it seemed like the whole campus was still asleep. I looked at my watch and wished that I could be still laying in bed as well. It was just 7:45 AM.

Officer Mark handed me my bags. I quickly slung my back pack over my shoulder along with my duffel bag and grabbed a hold of my suit case.

"Well, I think the headmistress office was on the first floor of the middle section. So all you really have to do is walk up the first set of stairs that you see once you walk inside," Officer Mark informed me.

I nodded at his words and walked toward the school not offering him any kind of a good-bye.

Not that it mattered- in a town with this size I would most likely see him again in a few minutes.

As I walked closer to the school, I realized that it was bigger than it looked from the parking lot.

I felt strangely small on the large free space all on my own.

An eerie feeling came over me that I was just too familiar with. I hadn't felt like that in years.

I suppressed it. I as not ever going to feel like this again.

I walked into the school and took a look around.

The hallway was completely deserted, enabling me to see every inch of the polished black floor.

Someone must be cleaning this floor with real passion.

A big chandelier hung right above my head, matching the whole scene especially since the large set of stairs in front of me were covered with a royal red carpet.

I shook my head and walked up the stairs.

A huge set of french windows gave me a wonderful view of the schools backyard.

It was more like a neatly trimmed park where not a single bird or squirrel would ever dare to do it's business in fear of getting shot.

I continued my way up and found that the first door that I was facing was actually the headmistress' office.

I read the name tag. _Mrs. E. Cullen._

That sounded harmless enough.

I knocked once.

"Come in," I heard a voice call from inside.

I opened the door slowly, looking around before my gaze actually settled on the headmistress.

It was a beautiful office.

Book cases took up most of the walls but there was still some space for some pictures here and there.

The furniture inside the office was all made up of dark wood, which was polished just as good as the floor in the hallway.

Finally, my gaze settled on the person sitting behind the desk.

I found it kind of cliche that there were large french windows right behind the chair on which Mrs. E. Cullen sat.

"Good morning," she greeted in a pleasant voice.

Somehow she was not how I imagined the headmistress of a ballet academy to be

And yet she still looked exactly like she was made for this office.

"Umm... good morning," I stammered, taking in her appearance.

She wore her hair in some kind of fancy updo, giving me a clear view of her face. Her eyes had a startling emerald green color, making them appear to glow. Her eyes definitely stood out between her overall delicate facial features and I was pretty sure that I had never seen a woman who was as beautiful as she was.

I wondered what she would look like if she smiled.

"You must be Isabella Swan," she stated, looking down at a paper in her hand.

Then she looked up at me and frowned slightly. "Well, don't just stand there." She gestured to one of the chairs standing in front of her desk.

I awkwardly shuffled over to the chair, trying not to trip over my suitcase.

"So Isabella Swan, yes?" she continued right away.

"Err... yes," I replied slowly.

"Yes, madam," she corrected, clucking her tongue in disapproval.

I suppressed a sigh and the urge to roll my eyes.

"Sorry...madam."

Mrs. Cullen just nodded and continued to read over the paper.

"You are related to Reneé Swan, am I correct?"

I was pretty certain that she already knew the answer but I decided to answer anyway.

"Yeah, she was my mother."

"Was?"

Now, Mrs. Cullen did look up from her paper. She looked at me with a surprised expression.

I looked down at my hands, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"She died about a year ago," I told her. My voice was merely more than a whisper.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," I could hear real sadness in Mrs. Cullen's voice, which caused me to look up. Her eyes were shimmering slightly. "I had been very found of your mother's work. She had been a truly amazing dancer. It was such a shame that she never made a comeback."

I only nodded at her words.

There wasn't really anything I could say about that.

Mrs. Cullen looked at me for a few more moments, compassion showing on her face.

Eventually, she decided to move on.

"It says here that you have taken part in the _American Dance Competition_ when you were seven," she noted, reading the paper again.

"Yes."

"Third place?"

"Yeah."

Mrs. Cullen let out a thoughtful hum.

"_The World Ballet Competition_?"

I nodded.

"Second place...that's pretty impressive for a ten-year old."

I didn't reply to that.

I actually didn't want to be reminded of those things.

"You even took part in the _Youth America Grand Prix_." Mrs. Cullen sounded pleasantly surprised by this.

"Yes, I also danced for the _Prix de Lausanne_," I informed her.

"I think I remember you know. You danced more than just once at the _American Dance Competition_, right?"

I nodded.

"Yes, I have seen you dance then. Quite impressive, I must say," Mrs. Cullen mused. "Shouldn't you have been offered scholarships or apprenticeships for a company? It is very unlikely that you were just being ignored."

I bit my lip and started wringing my hands.

"I was offered a few scholarships and the Ballet Arizona approached me a year ago for a place in their company," I answered.

"And you didn't take any of the offers?" Mrs. Cullen sounded not only surprised but downright shocked. It was a normal reaction though. Every ballet dancer wanted to get signed by a company so it was something like a deadly sin in Ballet world to just turn down an offer.

"My mother didn't want me to go to a Ballet Academy until I was sixteen. The offer from the Ballet Arizona came just before I turned sixteen and I would have taken the offer but... the death of my mother just-" I stopped talking, not really wanting bring up those memories.

My mother had always been the closest person to me in my entire life and talking about her death was doing absolutely nothing for my emotional well-being.

Once more I got the sad look from Mrs. Cullen. I turned my gaze away not wanting to see it.

"Well, Isabella with your knowledge there should be no problem for you fit in with our junior class. Your skills are most likely a bit further advanced than your classmates, but seeing that you haven't been dancing for a year I think it would be best if you start off simple. Besides, our junior class this year is highly talented so you will definitely find some dancers up to your standards."

I couldn't care less whether or not I had talented classmates, but I didn't say that out loud

Mrs. Cullen seemed to be a nice person and I didn't have to upset her just yet.

She got out of her chair and gestured for me to follow her as she made her way out of the office.

"I'm going to show you your room and give you a quick tour of the school," she explained.

I trailed after her, starting to feel slightly exhausted by the weight of my luggage. But Mrs. Cullen didn't turn to offer me a hand or anything of the sorts, so I sucked it up and tried to keep up with her.

"So you may have noticed from the outside that the school is quite big. We have an east wing and the west wing. The dorms are in both of those wings classes mostly take part here in the middle section. Up here on the first floor are the dancing studios. You are not to be in a single one by yourself without the permission of a teacher. Downstairs we have the regular classrooms as well as the library.

The second floor is the hospital wing and the offices of the teachers."

Mrs. Cullen strut down the halls in a fast pace while listing all of these things.

She pushed open a glass door and led me inside the west wing.

The floor was covered with carpet instead of being all shiny and stuff like the hallways. The carpet had the same royal red color as the one on the stairs in the main hall. There were also a few small chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Ms. Cullen led me up a staircase and continued talking.

"You might have noticed that none of the students are currently walking around. Everybody is in class right now except for the Seniors. The have their first period off on Tuesdays. The Juniors have the first period off on Fridays. That doesn't mean that you get to sleep in, of course. Everyone gets up at six. Breakfast is at seven and classes start at seven-thirty.

We work with a point system here, along with the normal grades. The points go from zero to ten. Your score will be based on your behavior and performance in class and are given out each week. Tardiness will cause you to lose points, so make sure to be on time. Your points will be added together each week, creating a ranking list. The higher your rank, the more like it is for you get noticed.

Mrs. Cullen explained swiftly while we walked down the hallway.

"Last year our two top dancers in the school were signed by the American Ballet Company. So make sure to always do your best if you want to make it in Ballet."

She halted in front of a door, labeled with the number 303.

"So this is going to be your room. Your roommates' names are Victoria Carter and Irina Sullivan. They are both in your class and will help you get settled in here."

We stepped into the room and I immediately liked it.

The room was big enough for three girls to live in.

There were large windows at the opposite wall, framed dark blue curtains. A dresser stood right beside the window with a mirror and a little bench in front of it. All of that in white.

I noticed that there was a dancing bar right in front of the mirror and there was enough space to actually rehearse in this room.

As I stepped into the room I noticed that on the opposite wall of the windows was a large wardrobe with mirror sliding doors. The room was practically made for some practicing in the evenings.

The space was held little though, so it wasn't suited for any major dancing. It was comfortable enough in here.

A bunk bed stood right in the corner, beside the single bed which stood parallel to it.

Of course, the only bed available was the upper one and I sighed at the thought of having to climb before I could drop myself in the pillows.

"You will have to discuss the arrangements with your roommates. There are two bathrooms in the hall and in case you are wondering the west wig is for girls only. The boys reside on the other side of the school and no girls are allowed over there after nine pm and of course the other way around. Lights off is at ten and if you need to know anything else just ask your classmates or teachers.

I'll leave you to get settled. Here is your schedule, I'll let Victoria know to pick you up for the next period."

She handed me my schedule, smiled once briefly at me and walked out of the room.

I set down my bags and took a deep breath.

Then I looked at my schedule.

Apparently, I just missed _Pas de deux_ classes. Not that I minded that much. I've never really danced with a partner.

The next class I was going to have was Technique 2. I sighed and rummaged through my bags.

I wasn't in the mood for this. Although, I was probably never going to be in the mood for this again.

I had put Ballet behind me and really didn't see the point in starting up again.

Despite the fact that this school looked nice, I still wasn't all that impressed with Charlie's decision and quietly cursed him under my breath.

There was no way I was going to dance today.

Pulling out my iPod, I seated myself on the floor and blasted my music at full volume.

I closed my eyes and thought about the life I had just left behind.

My crew was most likely dancing somewhere right now, enjoying themselves while trying out some crazy new moves, while I was here at a prissy Ballet Academy.

It had been hard to tell my friends about my father's decision, although it was even harder to keep Jacob at bay, so he didn't go and beat up Charlie.

Someone tapped me lightly on my shoulder.

I opened my eyes and found myself face to face with another girl.

She was grinning at me before she straightened herself up and said something.

I turned the music off and looked at her in question.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" I asked her.

She looked me over once before she answered.

"I said that you might wanna get ready because we both have to get to class now," she replied, now walking over to the dresser.

She checked her make-up real quick and made sure that her auburn red hair was tightly twirled into a bun.

"I'm Victoria, by the way," she added when I just proceeded to watch her, while she reapplied her lip gloss.

Then her cat-like eyes settled on me.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" she asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Bella," I answered curtly, not making a move to get off the floor.

"Well, Bella you should change fast otherwise we're going to be late. You do know that we have a point system at this school, right?"

"Yeah, I know and to be quite honest I don't really care. I'm ready as far as I'm concerned," I informed her.

She eyes me with suspicion.

I'm sure she was trying to figure out whether or not I was kidding. While she was wearing a short purple leotard dress with light pink tights, I was wearing khaki baggy pants, a white t-shirt and a simple black vest. Not exactly the look that a normal ballerina aimed for.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked me carefully.

"Seeing that my being here is actually a punishment and not something I decided out of pure love to ballet, I would say no," I replied with a shrug.

Victoria just looked at me for a few more moments but then decided to let it go.

"Alright then, I guess we can head to class then," she said, sighing.

She made a hand motion, telling me to follow her and led me out of the room.

She quickly led me out of the west wing and to the first floor, where I had been walking along with Mrs. Cullen. This time I actually saw students in the hallways. Lot's of students.

And all of them looked like ballerinas.

It was truly unsettling

The girls all had their hair put up into neat buns and walked around mostly in black leotards and pink tights. I assumed this was the attire that the school approved of the most.

Some were walking around in pointe shoes, making me wonder if they ever took them off.

And then there were the guys.

White tights and black shirts.

Most of them.

In my mind I saw how Nahuel, Seth and Jacob would be crying with laughter if they ever got to see this. They'd piss their pants.

Boys in tights was an absolute no-no. Although, I didn't mind the view all that much...

I almost ran into Victoria, who had come to a sudden halt while I had turned to check out some guy's ass. Sadly, it hadn't been that great.

Victoria looked around and seemed to be looking for someone.

"Who are you looking for?" I asked her, when she continued to stretch as if she would actually be able to see over the crowd that way.

"Umm... just a friend of mine. He wasn't in class this morning," she explained swiftly but the way she looked down and played around with her hands told me that she was lying.

I didn't care though, I was busy ignoring the looks I got from all those monkeys in tights.

They looked at me like I was an alien although they were the ones running around in tights and doing pirouettes.

"Alright" Victoria eventually sighed,"Let's go."

We continued to make our way through Twinkle Town and eventually Victoria led the way into one of the Dancing studios.

There was nothing overly spectacular about it. There was the usual mirror wall and several bars arranged nicely in the middle of the room.

Most of the students taking this class seemed to be already in here all of them either stretching, putting on their shoes or chatting.

Victoria skipped over excitedly to a girl with blond hair, who was talking to another blond until Victoria interrupted them.

They talked for a moment and then all three turned to look at me. Figures.

I tried not to roll my eyes, but didn't succeed.

Then the blond said something else to Victoria, which must have been something about me judging by the way she snickered after she had whispered to Victoria. Victoria just pulled a grimace.

Meanwhile, I was getting myself comfortable on the floor close to the door and watched the little dancing monkeys.

More and more people started to notice me, nudging their friends and pointed at me only to whisper something to each other and either laugh or shrug.

I did a pretty good job of ignoring that and tried to pick out someone who might be worthy of my time.

So far all I had seen were stuck up little dancing monkeys

I heaved out a sigh and banged my head against the wall.

"Good morning, class," a melodic voice called.

I looked up to see a middle-aged woman walking in.

Her hair was put into a bun just like all the girls' and she was wearing a simple black dress, along with black tights and black shoes.

She was a truly depressing creature.

Her posture showed that she must have been a dancer at some point of her life.

I had learned a long time ago that ballet can do a lot of things to your body and not all of them were good.

I wondered if I had looked this stiff as well back when I had first met Dimitri.

_"What's up your butt?"_

_"What are you talking about?" _

_"You walk like someone shoved a stick up your behind."_

_"It's called posture, something you wouldn't know seeing that you slouch like you wanna kiss the ground."_

_"Well, at least I can breath that way. Do you even know how to breath.?"_

_"What-"_

_"Ah, you know what? Don't even answer that. Look kid, if you want to continue being seen with me, you gotta do something about that stick of yours."_

_"What if I don't want to be seen with you?"_

_"Then good luck trying to survive in this school."_

"Err... Madam Justins, we have a new student," I heard the voice of Victoria announce.

That snapped me right out of my day-dreaming.

She gestured toward me, causing everyone's eyes to settle on me.

"Oh, I think Madam Esme has mentioned you," she said. I guessed that Madam Esme was the same person as Mrs. Cullen.

The way 'Madam Justins' was inspecting me now was definitely making it apparent that she found me distasteful.

"Miss, I know that you have only just arrived at the school but let me tell you that we are always dressed appropriately.

This is a Dance Academy and not some public school."

I just looked at her with a bored expression. Honestly, did I have to put a sign on my forehead that told them that I didn't even want to be here?

"Seeing that I have already talked to Madam Esme, I know that you have some dancing experience, so my question to you right now is: Why are you not dressed properly for dancing?"

"I am dressed properly for dancing, just not for the little Twinkle Town circus that you all are putting on in here," I replied, gesturing over to a girl, who was busily stretching at the bars.

I heard some people drawing in sharp breaths, while Madam Justins just continued to stare at me.

"Go and get changed now, I expect you to be back here in ten minutes," she instructed.

I didn't move an inch.

Staring back at her I said calmly,"I don't really want to."

Madam Justins looked positively pissed and took a deep breath before she yelled at me.

"You will go and change this instant or I will have five points taken from you for this whole week."

"That's alright," I replied and then pulled out my iPod.

Madam Justins was at loss of words for a moment but then decided that she was not going to put up with me any loner and called the class to order.

All of them threw looks into my direction that varied from awe 'til misunderstanding.

I winked at one girl, who involuntarily smiled at me.

When she caught my gaze she turned away quickly and listen to what Madam Justins was saying.

The next ninety minutes I spent listening to my music, while watching the monkeys doing one combination after another.

I had to admit that my feet were slightly itching to be moving as well, but there was no way in hell that I was gonna take part in this class. No _Grand Pliés_ for me.

When class ended, I left my spot on the floor and walked out of the classroom, while the little monkey were still getting down from their dancing high.

"Hey you, wait!"

For some unknown reason, I just knew that whoever was calling that was talking to me.

I turned around already a wary expression on my face.

I saw the girl who had smiled at me early in class.

She walked right up to me and held out her hand.

"I'm Alice,"she introduced herself.

I didn't shake her hand, I just looked at her with a confused expression.

The tiny girl in front of me let her hand drop and looked around awkwardly.

"So.. umm... I guess, I'll see you around?"

She stated it like a question, which was quite stupid knowing that we would see each other again.

I let the little Tinkerbell be and turned around, looking at my schedule.

Next I had Classical Ballet in Studio 8.

I found the Studio fairly easy and dropped down on the floor again, once I was inside.

Again, I got serious looks from my fellow students and I just stared back

I noticed that there were only girls in this class and I had seen some of them in the class before.

A short woman walked in, followed by the pianist and clapped her hands.

"Alright girls, positions," she called.

The girls all quickly scrambled around to get into position in front of the mirror.

"Let me see what you have been working on. Groups of four."

Again, the girls quickly rearranged themselves, although they had mostly already been standing in groups.

"We'll start in front with the group on the right side. Mr. Williams, please be so kind," the little teacher made a hand gesture in the direction of the piano in the corner and the guy sitting at it, immediately started playing. As soon as the music started playing the four girls in he group closest to me started dancing. En pointe, legs up and all of that crap.

They weren't perfectly synchronized, but they tried.

And then came a little leap for them to do in my direction when the teacher's gaze finally settled on me.

"Mr. Williams," she called softly, but the demand in her voice was clear to hear.

Mr. Williams immediately stopped playing and the girls all came to a halt.

"And who are you, miss?" the teacher asked me, obviously confused by my presence.

"New student," I replied lightly.

"Well, if that is the case then why are you not standing next to me in your dancing gear, watching the other girls dance?"

"Umm... I didn't know that that's what I'm supposed to be doing," I replied lightly and shrugged.

"Miss Houston, our new student isn't exactly known for her manners," a girl chimed up.

My gaze zeroed in on her and I recognized her as the blonde that Victoria had spoken to earlier.

She smirked back at me.

"I'm not sure if that is for you to say Miss Denali. You can't possible know her any longer than I do," Miss Houston responded.

"She was in our Technique class earlier and had been fairly disrespectful toward Madam Justins," the other blonde beside Blondie No. 1 chimed up. Different than Blondie no. 1 there was no sneer on her face, which was probably for the best. She would only end up getting wrinkles.

"Very well, I will have a little chat with Madam Esme after class," she looked at me while saying this, "But for now, I want you girls to show me that routine once more and try to be a bit more in sync. I'm pretty sure that all of did better last year at Rhythmic dancing. Now our new student should be right beside me."

She clapped her hands together once more and all the girls arranged themselves in their previous positions. I reluctantly got up and went to stand more or less next to Miss Houston. I made sure to keep a certain distance between us.

Mr. Williams started playing again and for the next ninety minutes I was forced to watch these girls mess up on _Batterrie_ after another. I sighed inwardly.

Out of the three groups there was just one that actually managed to work together.

"Very well, girls. One more pirouette, a plié and then we are done for today," Miss Houston finally announced.

The girls did was they were told, all of them stretching out their arms slowly when Mr. Williams let his music come to an end.

They actually clapped when he was done playing and curtsied before Miss Houston dismissed them.

I was about to leave the room as well but Miss Houston called me back.

"Miss Swan, I would appreciate it when you would be wearing something a little more adequate to my class. I don't expect to be taking part but at least wear something a bit... lighter," she said to me and then walked out of the studio.

Looking after her, I tried to remember when I had told her my name.

Looking at my schedule I realized that it was lunch break now. Just then I noticed that Madam Esme or Mrs. Cullen had never actually told me where the cafeteria was.

As soon as I walked out of the studio, I just started to trail behind the mass, who were all headed for the back yard. I hadn't realized that there were a few more little building at the back until I saw them on my way to the cafeteria, which happened to be in once of them.

I just casually strolled around and somehow ended up in line with a tray in my hands. Don't ask me how that happened.

Hopefully, they served some edible food around here otherwise I would have to starve in my time being here. Although that would be a pretty good reason for the school not to be serving any decent food. Lot's of dancers put themselves through some crazy diets.

"What do you want to eat, honey?" the lunch lady asked me when it was my turn.

"What you got?"

"Cesar salad, rice with lightly buttered vegetables and vegetarian lasagna."

I frowned t that. I didn't know why I was so naive sometimes, but still I had been hoping for cheese fries.

"Lasagna, please," I sighed.

The plate she handed over me looked pretty decent so I forgot momentarily about my disappointment at not getting any fries.

I grabbed a diet coke and turned around to face the mess that always took place in cafeterias.

The way I stood there with my tray in my hands, not knowing where I could sit kind of reminded me of the very same situation one year ago.

Back then it had been also a new school after I had just moved in with my Dad.

I hated being the new kid.

Adjusting to new things like that wasn't really something I was comfortable with.

I spotted an empty table at the far side of the cafeteria and quickly crossed the room to get seated.

Once I sat and turned to my food, the full force of home sickness kicked in.

Normally, I would be sitting at a table with Rina and Felix while the rest of them were running around the place goofing off until Dimitri appeared and called them all to order.

Until then Jake and Seth usually got rid of heir food in some way that didn't involve digesting it and bothered rest of us with disgusting stories of how the lunch ladies contaminated the food.

We usually ended up ditching class and grab something from the nearest McDonald's.

I smiled at the thought. The good old times.

Just then my hone started ringing.

I fished it out of my pocket and grinned when I looked at the caller ID.

"Bells, you need to come back home fast," Felix shouted on the other end, not giving me the chance to say anything at all.

"What have you guys done this time?" I asked.

"Nothing," Seth reassured me, letting me realize that I was on speaker, "We just miss our little doll."

I snorted and threw my feet on the chair next to me.

"I'm not your doll."

"But you are our princess," Felix noted.

I rolled my eyes.

The title they had insisted on giving me was just plain ridiculous.

"You know that I tried on many occasions," Dimitri replied. "But at this point I agree with them that you are our Princess. No offense, Rina."

"Y'all don't appreciate me as much as y'all should. I'm gon' be joinin' Bellsie in that tutu school and then you'll see who's the princess," she muttered.

"Probably Seth," I joked, causing the guys to laugh apart from Seth who was complaining.

"Aw man, bells. See, it's not the same without you. Our prince is all depressed and shit and you are somewhere in nowhere wiggling your ass around in some tutu," Nahuel said. "I didn't even get to apologize properly."

"You apologized about a hundred times before I was shipped off. I'm telling you that it's not your fault. It's Charlie and his stupid way of thinking."

"Well, you better be not finding a new stick to shove it up your-"

"Prince, prince...relax," I interrupted Dimitri.

"Did you guys hear that?" Tyler called excitedly. "She called him Prince. I knew that there was something. I always told you that there was something going on between those two."

"Uhh..."

"Just because she called him Prince?" Felix asked him in confusion.

"You're such a loser, Tyler. Just shut the hell up," Rina said.

I sighed.

He whole Prince and Princess business started up right about the time when Dimitri introduced me to the rest. He was apparently the "Prince" of the crew and since we appeared to be pretty cozy they thought I was his girlfriend and called me his princess.

"Alright, chica. We gotta leave ya. Make sure to call us anytime you need to talk, alright?" Felix said.

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"Okay, we love you princess."

"Bye, Bella," the rest of them chorused.

"Bye, guys. Don't go ruining our reputation without me."

I heard their protests when I closed the phone, smiling at their antics.

It was right after I put my phone away that I noticed once again how everyone was staring at me.

Even some of the teachers.

I scowled and hurried to finish my food.

As soon as I was done I got up and left the cafeteria, making sure to glare at as many people as I could manage.

Once I was outside, I looked t my schedule again.

My next class was Musical History. It sounded pretty boring but at least it would involve any more dancing- I was already fed up with that.

I made my way to the assigned classroom slowly, since the lunch break wasn't over yet and eventually ended up in the right room.

Since the classroom was empty I just got seated at the back corner and leaned back, closing my eyes.

The peace and quiet that surrounded me, caused me to drift off.

"_Concentrate Bella. Again from the top. Third Position and go."_

_I turned my feet out in the right ankle and took a deep breath._

_The music came on and I started the routine again_

_I brought my arms up slowly in time with the music._

_I concentrated fully on the soft piano music. _

_Rising on the platforms of my pointe shoes, I made a slow pirouette._

_The the music picked up and I turned faster- turning the simple pirouette into fouettes._

_Everything around me blurred but I didn't care about that._

_When the tune of the music changed I quickly made the transition from fouettes to a triple run and then continued to make little steps in time with the music, which was just getting faster._

_I was used to fast combinations and steps, but this was different than my usual dances._

_I had to change so quickly from turns to jumps and steps again that it was hard to stay in time with the music._

_Just then the music stopped making me halt in my movements._

_I looked over at my mother, who stood next to the stereo and looked at me with raised eyebrows._

_I bit my lip as I looked at her._

"_I messed up again, didn't I?"_

_Mom just looked at me._

_With a groan of frustration and dropped myself to the ground._

"_I'm never gonna get it right. It's too fast. My technique is not that good yet."_

_Mom walked over to me and sat down beside me._

"_I know that it is harder than the things you usually do, but I'm sure that you can do it. I wouldn't teach you this if I didn't have absolute faith in you," she said._

"_But Mom this is the routine that let you win the American Ballet Competition. There is no way I'm ever gonna learn that. I'm not nearly as good as you were."_

_She lifted my head, making me look at her._

"_That is not true. You are a way better dancer than I ever could have been. You have extraordinary feet and more passion than I ever had. I see the look in your eyes when you dance. It makes you happy, right?"_

_I only nodded._

"_See, that is one of the thins that make you so great. That and the fact that you have the greatest teacher alive."_

_She grinned and I smiled at her in return._

"_Tell you what, we go and get some ice cream and then we'll go down to beach and soak up some rays. You need a break."_

"_Sounds good."_

"_Good? It sounds fantastic. Come on, my little Bellarina."_

"Hey Rebel, do you mind moving your feet of my chair?" I heard a voice asked.

I opened my eyes and looked confusedly at the face in front of me.

The expression on that face was definitely not a friendly one, but that didn't distract me from noticed that the girl in front of me was beautiful.

She was a blonde, had blue eyes and taking in her full appearance I realized that she was the complete opposite of me.

With a sigh I moved me legs off her chair.

She sent me a tight lipped smile and sat down.

Until then I hadn't noticed the tiny girl behind her.

It was the one who had introduced herself as Alice earlier today.

She looked at me with wide eyes, probably recognizing me before she smiled at me and got seated as well.

The blonde had watched the one-sided exchanged and quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me that you befriended her," she said to Tinkerbell, throwing a doubtful look in my direction.

"I've met her before. She's in my technique class," Tinkerbell replied with a light shrug.

"So you really are a student here?" the blonde now asked me.

"Yeah."

She scanned me once quickly and raised both her eyebrows this time.

"You're different," she then noted.

"What makes you think that," I asked her sarcastically.

She huffed in response and reached up into her hair. She pulled the ribbon out, letting her long blond hair fall to her shoulders in slight waves.

She ruffled through it once and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm Rosalie," she introduced herself without looking at me.

I looked at her and then Tinkerbell and wondered what exactly the deal with those two was.

Everyone else in this place made sure to stay away from me so why didn't they.

"Bella," I replied automatically.

The teacher had already started class talking some boring stuff about Mozart's father.

"So I take it that you are not here voluntarily?" Rosalie asked, looking ahead to create the illusion that she was paying attention.

"That's right."

Rosalie only nodded and didn't say anything else for the rest of class.

She once turned to whisper something to Alice, but I didn't care enough to try and pay attention to that.

My next class was English Lit. Back when I was still schooling in Jacksonville it had been one of my favorite subjects. Nowadays, I hardly even had the time to read.

I let the teacher drone on and on about some tragedy and just tuned everything else out.

I did that for the rest of the day. By the time my final class ended I felt like a robot.

Just when I entered my new room, I was assaulted by Victoria.

"Bella, good thing that you are here. Irina and I just made room for you in the closet- the right part is yours. You get the upper bed and the bottom drawer of the dresser is yours. I don't mind you using my make up or anything but if you empty it, you'll have to buy it. Okay, I think that's it. I'm gonna head out now. See ya later."

She skipped out of the room, leaving me alone with one of the blondes I had seen twice in class already today.

"I'm Irina Sullivan. A few basic rules: No stupid pranks. No loud music. No alcohol in this room. If you must need in here, clean up after yourself and don't ever do anything that gets me in trouble as well. Understood?"

I gaped at her for a moment before I slowly nodded my head.

"Great. Just so that you know. Dinner is at six and curfew is at nine."

With these words she also left the room, leaving me to just stand there a bit dumbfounded.

Seemed like Irina and I would get along just great... or not.

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><p><em><strong>AN:**_** Okay, now I think I should be going to bed. Not without thanking the people that have reviewed already**

**(justareaderfan, anubisfreak and Light1172) Thank you! :)**

**Alirhgt, I'm off to bed (maybe) and you guys can just leave a review, which I'll read in the morning and I might even reply if I'm not too lazy :O**


	3. Sugar Plum Fairy meets Street Trash

_**A/N:**___** The good thing about inspiration is that I get to update fast- the bad thing is that I don't get to sleep as much as I should...**

**Anyway, thank you all for your reviews and Alerts and so on. It made me feel a lot better during my week end filled with sickness**

**I don't have much to say right now, so just go on and read- I'll be at the bottom ;)**

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><p><em>Bella Pov<em>

I woke up merely five minutes after I had fallen asleep. I'd barely slipped away into dreamland when I already heard the ungodly noise that only alarm clocks could produce.

"Motherf-"

"Time to get up, Bella," an entirely too cheerful voice said.

I opened my eyes slowly and was staring right into yellowish-brown cat eyes.

I let out a startled yelp and shrunk back.

Victoria only laughed.

"Come on, get up. You don't want Madam Esme to come and tear you out of bed, do you?"

She grabbed a couple of toiletries from her dresser and looked expectantly at me.

"Come on, the bathroom is not going to be free all morning," she urged.

I groaned and slowly rose.

"You have pretty freaky eyes, you know that?" I mumbled as I climbed down from my bed.

"Yeah, I know," she laughed in response.

Good thing that she didn't have green eyes, that would be truly unsettling although I wasn't too sure if it got any freakier than the weird honey color.

I quickly gathered the stuff that I would need in the bathroom while Victoria waited patiently.

Once I was done she led the way toward the bathroom.

Victoria greeted a few of the girls that we passed, while I made as little eye contact as possible. I went into a cabinet at the back.

The bathroom was basically one big room with many little bathrooms in it.

Every shower was cut off from the others with a little space in front of it with a sink and a place to hang up towels, a small bench and a body length mirror. I sighed in relief at that not knowing what I would have done if I didn't get at least some privacy in this place.

I stripped quickly and got into the shower.

Still halfway asleep I stood in there for several minutes, motionless and just letting the water rain down on me. There was no better way to wake up properly.

After I got out of the shower I wrapped myself in my towel and stared at the clothes that I had chosen to wear.

I had decided to play a bit nicer today, mainly because Miss Houston would let me be if I at least appeared somewhat decent.

And I had to admit that in a school like this it made me feel a tiny bit self-conscious to be walking around in my baggies and sneakers.

I pulled on some black tights, my favorite red hot pants and a black tank top. It was most likely still making me stand out, but I wasn't willing to fit in with the masses just yet.

I noticed a blow dryer hanging next to the mirror and grabbed it to dry my hair quickly.

Once I was satisfied, I pulled it up in a messy ponytail.

I quickly brushed my teeth, took care of my make up and strutted out of the bathroom again.

When I entered the room, I saw Irina stretching at the bar already. She was dressed in a black leotard and pink tights with matching ballet flats. I wondered if she ever did anything that was against the rules and if she would stop breathing if somebody told her that breathing was not allowed.

"You are not planning on going to class like that, do you?" she asked me sceptically.

"Actually, I do," I informed her, putting away my things.

"Well, I suppose it's better than what you wore yesterday," she mumbled.

I might have replied with something to that, but Victoria barged into the room so noisily that I was momentarily distracted.

"James just asked me out," she announced loudly, letting out a squeal.

I looked up at her. "Who's James?"

"Only the hottest guy in the universe," she answered.

I quirked an eyebrow at her.

"James is the guy she had been chasing after ever since she got paired up with him in Pas de deux classes," Irina explained for my benefit.

I nodded slowly.

"I have not been chasing after him," Victoria protested.

"Sure you haven't," Irina mumbled, not even really paying attention to the worked up red head.

"Oh, shut up. Are you coming down with me for breakfast, Bella?" Victoria asked, turning to look at me.

"Sure."

I followed Victoria hastily, who was skipping down the hall with a goofy grin on her face.

I suppressed a chuckle at her sight.

"So what do you want to eat?" Victoria asked me, when we stood in line to get our breakfast.

It was not quite seven yet, so the cafeteria was still fairly empty.

"We have a wonderful fruit salad or maybe you try the mango yogurt. It's made off fresh mangoes," Victoria blabbered.

"Nothing more...normal?" I asked her.

"Well, I suppose you could eat a sandwich or some cereal as well."

I sighed in relief.

"I was already afraid that they served absolutely no bearable food around here," I muttered.

"Oh, you'll get used to it. The school makes sure to keep us healthy."

"Good morning, Victoria," a voice spoke behind me.

I turned my head slightly and saw that it was the blonde that I was starting to dislike.

"Morning, Tanya," Victoria replied cheerfully, not looking at her friend while she grabbed one of the fruit salads.

"Since when are you hanging out with... her?"

She threw a disgusted look at me while she said that.

I just rolled my eyes at her.

She was one of those girls who just didn't have anything better to do then gossip about others and make them miserable just to make herself feel better.

"She's my roommate, I'm kind of taking her under my wing," Victoria replied nonchalantly.

"Since when is it your job to take care of new students?" Tanya sneered.

Now Victoria did turn around to look at Tanya. "It's called being nice. You should try it some time."

Then she turned to look at me. "Do you want to sit with me?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"She is not going to sit with us," Tanya protested immediately.

Victoria threw her an annoyed glance.

"If you payed attention you would have noticed that I asked her to sit with _me _and not with _us_," she retorted and then waltzed off.

I snickered at Tanya's dumbfounded expression and then hurried off behind Victoria.

She just took a seat at a random table and looked fairly annoyed.

"Hey, I don't want to be the reason-"

Victoria interrupted me.

"Don't worry about it- Tanya's a bitch sometimes."

"Ain't that the truth," I mumbled as I took a seat at the table myself.

Victoria chuckled quietly and started to eat her fruit salad.

Munching happily on my cereals, I looked around the room. There was no one that stood out in particular as the room started to fill with dancing monkeys.

I noticed Alice and Rosalie as the two of them walked in and had to grin at the sight.

Until now I hadn't realized what a weird duo those two were.

The tiny brunette, who skipped around as if she had Red Bull running through her veins and the superb blonde, who looked more like a runway model than a ballerina.

"Mary-Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale,"Victoria commented, not even looking up.

I stared at her in wonder. How could she know where I was looking if she didn't even turn around?

"You looked a little disturbed and awed at the same time. Alice and Rosalie are the only ones, who cause that kind of reaction."

I continued to stare at her.

Victoria rolled her eyes.

"They are both extraordinarily beautiful but at the same time they just look weird together. It's like watching a cartoon," she continued.

Just then Alice saw me looking at her and waved excitedly, poking Rosalie at the same time just to point in my direction.

Rosalie looked up lazily, saw me, shrugged and grabbed a tray for herself.

"Yup, that seems to describe them pretty well," I agreed with Victoria.

She hummed and continued eating.

Irina approached the table then. I hadn't noticed her before she came to sit down beside Victoria.

"May I ask why we are not sitting with Tanya?" she asked casually.

"You could have gone to sit with her- I only decided to be nice to Bella and Tanya was bitching about that."

"Ah well. I wasn't in the mood for her antics right now any way. One more word about Edward Cullen's hair and I swear I'm going to vomit," Irina sighed, "I didn't even know it was possible to talk that much about hair. I mean... it's just hair. If his hair would be glowing in the dark, I'd understand but no, it's just ordinary, kind of strangely colored hair. Not to forget that she goes on for days about his eyes and the way he looks when he's concentrating and how his muscles flew when he's doing a lift."

Irina let out an irritated huff while I just looked at her with raised eyebrows. I wasn't entirely sure if she had even taken a breath while she said all that. It sounded more like she was crushing on that Edward guy.

"Sounds like either she has been annoying you with her hour long speeches again or you have a little crush on Edward yourself," Victoria commented, voicing my thoughts.

"I don't crush. I'm a dancer. I don't have time for that High School nonsense," Irina replied automatically.

"Sound like a robot much?"

"Just stating facts."

"Good morning, Bella," a voice chirped beside me, startling me to death.

I jumped in my seat and turned at the person behind me.

Alice was beaming at me, completely oblivious to the fact that she had nearly caused me a heart attack.

"Good morning, Vic and Irina," she continued.

"Do you realize that you almost killed poor Bella here?" Victoria asked her instead of greeting her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alice said to me and then continued in the same breath. "Do you guys mind if we sit with you?"

She gestured toward Rosalie, who was sauntering toward the table now as well.

"As long as it's only the two of you and not your idiotic friends as well," Irina replied.

Alice's grin became even more pronounced as she sat down beside me.

Rosalie took a seat as well, although she looked a lot less animated.

"Morning," she greeted curtly, while she looked around as if she was looking for someone.

"Looking for someone?" I asked.

"No,"she answered almost immediately and turned her attention to the bowl in front of her.

Alice giggled.

"She's always trying to keep an eye on Emmett," she muttered, loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.

"Emmett McCarthy? Seriously?" Victoria asked, curiosity written all over her face.

"Alice," Rosalie hissed,"Can't you just once keep your goddamn mouth shut?"

Alice looked down guiltily. "Sorry."

"So you like Emmett?" Victoria pressed, obviously longing for some information. I just watched the whole scene in front of me.

"No, I don't like him. In fact, I hate that kid, which is why I'm trying to be on the look-out so that I can run away before he reaches me," she retorted.

"Is that why you always hang out with him?" Irina threw in.

I suppressed a snicker.

"I don't hang out with him. It's not my fault that my brother chose to be best friends with that douche."

"Sure," Irina and Victoria chorused.

Rosalie just huffed in response and resumed eating.

"So Bella," Alice suddenly said, sounding like she had been waiting to address me the whole time. "Do you already know with whom you are going to dance in Pas de deux classes?"

"Hmm?"

". Deux," she repeated, dragging out the words.

"Madam Esme didn't say anything to me about it," I told her with a shrug.

"Hmm... Is there anyone without a partner in our class?" Alice asked the others.

"Are you talking about the people in our morning Pas de deux class or the Junior year in general?" Victoria asked.

"Err... as far as I know everyone is already paired up in our morning class, or not?"

"Yes, but there are still a few Juniors without a partner. Laurent Milton doesn't have a partner. He sometimes dances with Irina. I don't know who else is without a partner," Victoria mused.

"Seriously? Laurent doesn't have a partner. I thought he and Irina wer-"

"He couldn't separate business and pleasure," Irina interrupted. She sounded kind of snippy.

"He made a move on you?" Victoria nearly shrieked. "How come that I don't know about it?"

"He didn't make a move on me," Irina said, slightly irritated. "He just kind of implied that he was interested in me for more than just my dancing skills."

"Or in other terms: he made a move on you," Alice concluded. Rose snickered quietly along with Victoria.

Irina just let out an irritated huff and seemed to have decided that it was better to ignore them.

"I don't even know what your problem is, Irina. Laurent is nice, good-looking and a very good dancer," Alice continued.

Irina just continued to ignore her.

"Don't even try it, Alice. Irina doesn't have any human emotions," Victoria commented.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not acting like a fan girl gone crazy when a guy asks me out," Irina snapped.

"I wasn't acting like a crazy fan girl." Victoria pouted, while I started to wonder if this conversation was ever going to end.

"James asked you out?" Rose asked, not sounding like she was very interested in these news.

"Yes," Victoria squealed in response, bouncing up and down in her seat.

I rolled my eyes along with Irina.

"Well, good luck with that douche," Rose said dryly, looking around the room again.

Victoria sent her a quick glare and opened her mouth to reply something, but I wasn't really in the mood to listen to them bitching around.

"Shouldn't we get to class? I've never had Pas de Deux classes and I still have to meet that Lawrence guy," I barged in.

"It's Laurent," Irina corrected, making obvious effort to pronounce the name properly.

I only quirked an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything.

"Oh yes, let's get her settled in before the whole group is there," Alice said. She was way too enthusiastic for my liking.

He jumped up and dragged me along before I could even blink.

Victoria skipped along while Rose trailed behind us with a bored expression on her face.

From the whole bunch she seemed to be the only normal one.

Instead of dragging me into the dance studio like I had suspected- Alice pulled me all the way up to the third floor.

She knocked furiously at one of the doors and tapped her foot impatiently when she had to wait for an answer.

The door opened and a petite woman peaked out.

"Yes?" she inquired when she caught sight of Alice.

She was an elderly woman and I could tell with one look at her that she was not one that liked to be messed with.

"Good morning, Madam," Alice greeted and actually curtsied.

She fucking curtsied. Of course, I had seen this in class before but right in that moment it just took me all I had not to laugh.

"Good morning, Ms. Brandon. What can I do for you?"

"Well, actually this is not about me. We're here because of Bella," Alice explained and gestured toward me.

The woman's eyes settled on me and I saw how her eyebrows shot up immediately.

"Ah yes, our new student," she muttered in recognition.

Alice bobbed her head frantically, while I just let out a sigh.

"Madam Cope, Bella has been assigned to our Pas de Deux class and we were all wondering with whom she was going to dance," Victoria chimed in, obviously not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

"Is that so?" Madam Cope asked, looking at me.

I simply shrugged in answer. It was true that I was in her class but I hadn't really been thinking about the whole dancing partner thing. It wasn't like I was going to dance anyway.

"Well, from what I've heard from the other teacher, who already had the pleasure of meeting you, you are not particularly found of proper clothing or dancing in general.

She looked me once over.

"It seems like you have improved in the clothing department, though," she stated but still pulled a slight grimace.

I shrugged again.

"I am not sure if we should provide a dancing partner for you just yet. As long as you are not going to dance, there is no sense in wasting the time of our students. In case that you decide to participate in classes please let me know- I will make sure that someone transfers into our class then."

"Does that mean I don't have to attend your classes?" I asked, sounding maybe a bit to hopeful.

Madam Cope scowled.

"No, you will be in the studio at all times. I'll find something for you to do." And with that she closed the door.

"Um...wow," Rose commented, now seemingly more interested than a few moments ago.

"How can they do this?" Alice ranted.

"Do what?" I asked lamely.

"Support your horrible behavior," she snapped.

I smirked. "It's because of my obvious charms."

"Or they probably don't give a shit. I mean, seriously we have more than enough skilled dancers here that need attention and training. What's the use of wasting it on someone who doesn't even want to be here?" Rosalie commented.

"Ouch, that hurt my feelings. And here I thought you liked me," I grumbled with sarcasm.

"I don't even know you," Rosalie replied. "And even if I did like you. I was just stating a fact. It's nothing against you personally."

"It's possible to like a person and disagree with their behavior," Alice chirped."But no worries, you're not hopeless. We'll steer you in the right direction."

"I don't want to be steered in the right direction," I snapped at her and shook the hand of that she had put on my shoulder.

Alice looked at me with wide eyes for a moment and then sighed, shaking her head.

"Why always me?" she muttered. I had absolutely no clue what she meant by that.

"You always pick the wrong people, little pixie," Rosalie said to her and patted her head lightly, before she glided into the studio.

Victoria was already inside.

Alice inspected me for a moment:

Then she shook her head. "No, they are always the right ones," she said and then turned to go in as well.

I stumbled after her, a bit confused since I had still no fucking plan what they were talking about but I decided to dismiss it for the time being.

What did I care if they were all weird? It's not like they were my friends, anyway...

Of course, this dance studio did not look any different from others. It was just larger as the other ones I had been in.

I sat down on a chair in the corner and watched my new classmates.

It seemed like everyone was strangely energetic and excited.

I briefly wondered just how long they already had Pas de Deux classes.

Rosalie and Alice were suddenly next to me and pulled me up from my chair.

"What the-"

"We want to introduce you to a few people," Alice told me as we approached a group of boys.

"Okay, meet Jasper," she started right away, although the boys had been engaged in a conversation a few seconds ago. She pointed at a tall guy with wavy blond hair and sky blue eyes. He looked kind of like Rosalie.

"He's Rose's twin brother," Alice added.

Jasper looked at me with a curious expression and then held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you."

I just shook his hand, a bit at loss with this whole situation.

"And this is Emmett. There is absolutely nothing you need to know about him. Just hang around with him for five minutes and you know more than you want to."

"You're just jealous because I'm prettier than you," the big guy said to her, running his hand through his dark curls.

"Sure," Alice said and continued. "An last but not least. This is Edward. He's Rose's Pas de Deux partner. You should watch the two of them during class. It's hilarious."

She pointed at the third guy, who's green eyes were inspecting me with a calculating look.

He had very strange hair- it was sticking into every direction on his head and had a weird bronze color. But I had to admit that he was rather good looking.

More so than the other two, who were already quite handsome.

"And guys, this is Bella. Our new student. She has a few attitude problems and has been sent here for some adjusting," Alice announced in a happy voice.

All three guy groaned. "Not again."

I looked at each of them with raised eyebrows.

"Seriously, I don't know why they keep doing this. We can't always start at scratch just because some new kid doesn't know what the hell she is doing," Emmett complained.

Rosalie glared at him. "Maybe you didn't notice, but I'm a better dancer than you are," she hissed at him.

That caught my attention.

Did that mean that Rosalie had been the new kid once as well?

"I hope you had a better ballet teacher in your childhood than Rose, because she barely knew the basics when she came here," Edward said to me, earning a glare from Rosalie as well.

"It doesn't really matter. I'm not going to dance," I informed him.

"What are you here for then?" Jasper asked me in confusion.

"It was either this or juvi. I picked the one with the better food."

All five of them stared at me with their mouths open.

"You're like... a criminal?" Alice asked me in a small voice.

I rolled my eyes.

"No, I'm not. I just have an obnoxious father, who just happens to be the Chief of Police in Phoenix and decided to tag along with his buddy, who is a patrol officer."

"I don't get it."

"He caught me with a guy in my arms that had been beaten beyond compare and noticed my slightly drunken state," I informed her in a bright voice.

I had to admit. Their shocked faces were almost enough to get me off.

"So you are a criminal," Rose stated, thinking that she had just read between the lines.

"It depends on how you see it," I told her with a shrug.

"Wow... I'm not sure if we get her to even do a plié," Jasper mumbled.

"How come they send you of to a Ballet Academy then? Obviously, you can't just learn Ballet like that. It takes a lot of hard work," Alice asked me.

I sighed. "I used to dance Ballet before I moved on to Street dance."

"So what, because you did some tutu shaking as a kid, your father thought you could keep up at a school like this?" Rose questioned.

I didn't bother to really set her right and tell her that it had been a bit more than just 'tutu shaking' what I had done.

"Apparently. Maybe he thinks that all dancing is the same. Which it obviously isn't."

"Obviously not, you can't just put some street trash into a dancing studio," Edward muttered.

My eyes immediately zeroed in on him.

"What did you just say?"

He looked back at me.

"I didn't talk about you as a person. I just think that the whole Hip Hop scene is kinda trashy."

I scoffed. "Of course, you would think that. It's amazing how all of you Sugar Plum Fairies always think that you are so awesome and great with your tights in prissy little dancing studios, while we actually have to deal with real life and every fucked up aspect of it. You are not as wonderful as you all think you are, because when it comes down to it only a handful of people in this school will be actual dancers. The rest of you is going to be thrown on the street where you won't even survive for a seconds, because your pointe shoes are not really the best shoes to be running in."

"What are you trying to scare us with your little ghetto stories now?" Edward raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms.

"I would love to but I'm not even sure if we speak the same language."

"Right, because only total gangster dudes get the stuff that is coming out of your mouth."

I stared at the boy for a moment.

"Total gangster dudes?" I repeated in disbelief. Then I shook my head. "This is like being in a fucking movie. The only thing that is missing is your male counterpart."

I think I heard Emmett snicker at that but didn't pay any attention.

"Why? You're standing right in front of me," Edward retorted.

I shot him the deadliest of all glares. He looked a bit startled for a second but then regained his cocky posture.

"Yeah and isn't it nice that I didn't have to stuff my pants so that it looks like there is actually something in it?"

I smiled sweetly at Edward.

"Alright class. Positions," I heard the voice of Madam Cope as she waltzed into the room.

With an arrogant grin I spun around and wanted to get to my previous seat.

"Oh Bella, I have a special task for you," Madam Cope said and waved me over.

I made my way reluctantly into her direction.

"You'll be at that bar, stretching."

I gave her a look that clearly said that I was not going to do Ballerina stretches.

"I don't care how those stretches look or if you do yoga, but you will be doing something and that something is stretching."

I scowled at the woman and went over to the bar on the opposite side of the room, far away from my classmates.

Thank god for that.

Standing beside the bar, I didn't really know what to do with myself.

I wanted to pull my iPod out of my pocket, but today's choice of wardrobe didn't provide a pocket for me.

My music center was probably still in the dorm room under my pillow which was not really something I needed right now.

"Miss Bella, I don't see you stretching," Madam Cope noted after she had given instructions to the class.

I lifted my arms and bent to the sides in an overly exagerrated movement.

Madam Cope shook her head at me but looked slightly amused.

I stopped, however, when she went to a pair to correct their posture.

I contemplated for a brief moment to actually use the bar for my stretches. The familiar excercises came to my mind quite easily, but I pushed the memories away immediately.

I dropped down to the floor and stuck to the basic stretches that I had always done before and after dancing with the crew or after kicking ass in Gym.

Sadly, the only ass I ever kicked in Gym was Seth's and that was only because I literally kicked him.

When it came to Physical Education, I sucked so badly that it was a wonder how I hadn't killed myself or anyone else during the class.

My mother had always said that I wasn't meant to be an athlete. I was destined to be a dancer.

I smiled a little at the thought of her.

She had always been so passionate about dancing and yet she managed to keep a perfect balance between Ballet and the rest of life. It happened that some people got to consumed with the whole thing, which was not healthy at all. Mom had always said that we had to be dedicated but not obsessed.

Without really thinking about what I was doing, I leaned over my legs to touch my toes.

I felt the familiar pull in my legs, although it shouldn't really be as painful as it was.

I bent my knees and just rested my upper body on my thighs, not really stretching anything by doing that.

Suddenly, Madam Cope was by my side.

"I want you to repeat this exact stretch for the rest of this class. Take breaks in between and try to straighten your legs out more in the process. You will do this for the next classes as well, until your legs are flat on the ground and your upper body is bending properly," she instructed.

I stared up at her.

"You know how to do this, don't you? You are not to overwork yourself and you have to vary the stretches a little."

"Yes, I know."

"Good."

She walked back to the class and snapped at Edward for having a bad grip on Rosalie.

I snickered at that and he heard it, judging by the glare I received.

At that point, I was pretty sure that I would get along way better with Irina and her stupid rules than with Edward and his... stupidity.

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><p><em><strong>AN:**___** Yeah, I know. As the queen of long chapters (those of you who read FASGS know what I mean) it should be expected that I write more than that.**

**I could have done that, actually but I felt like the chapter had to end on that point, so I did just that.**

**Besides, I totally need to go to bed now and I wanted to update before sleeping ;)**

**Leave me a review and tell me what you think. I appreciate all kinds of reviews and...yeah, that's actually it.**

**Buenas noches a todos:D**


	4. La Push Reservation

_**A/N:**_** The super-beta strikes again! Before any senseless rambling takes place I'll have to thank Ms. Justareaderfan for taking the time to beta this chapter. She's now officially the Stepping Swan Lake beta and we are all very grateful for that, because nobody likes typos and grammatical errors.**

**Okay so... I may have said that I won't be updating this story much, but I've come to realize that I can't hold my fingers still when it comes to this story. So you'll probably get regular updates- just not impossibly long chapters ;)**

**This basically means that I do intend to stick with this story (thank you, Virpukka for your review) :D**

**Alright, I'm done talking. Go on and read- I'll be at the bottom.**

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><p><em>Bella Pov<em>

The following days at the academy were pure horror.

Well, maybe not really, but still...Horror.

Apparently, all of the teachers had thought that Madam Cope's idea was brilliant, because I spent every single one of the dancing classes stretching.

By the end of the week I felt like a gummy bear.

I didn't talk much to anyone and ate my meals alone most of the time.

Victoria would join me every now and then, but mostly just for breakfast.

Alice and Rosalie stopped bothering me and ignored me when they sat next to me in Musical History.

They were probably scared of me or something. I didn't care.

I used my free time to leave campus and walk around Forks.

The town was seriously tiny.

I bought myself a pair of Inline skates at Newton's and spent most of my time skating through the streets of Forks.

After skating for hours, I would always return on time to the school campus and get to bed immediately. There wasn't much I could do there anyway.

Victoria asked me to tag along with her a couple of times, but I always declined not wanting to deal with any of the prima ballerinas.

Each morning I would wake up, feeling like shit. The constant stretching and the skating were definitely affecting me.

Nothing eventful actually happened in my first week and the students were already starting to ignore me. Or more accurately, they were starting to avoid me.

I had a feeling that Alice, Rosalie and the rest of the bunch had been talking about me, but I didn't really care.

Felix nearly pissed his pants when I told him that the entire school seemed to be scared of me. He actually thought about coming down here and scaring them even more.

By the time Sunday came around, I was already fed up with this whole thing and couldn't imagine staying here one day longer.

I grabbed my back pack early in the morning and sneaked out without anyone noticing.

I put my skates on again and rolled through the sleepy little town.

Since I had already seen every aspect of Forks, I decided skate a little out of town.

I landed in the 'La Push Reservation'.

The road gave me a wonderful view of the beach and despite the fact that I was used to the traditional sunny beaches, I felt a bit more at home.

The beach was quite empty- apart from a few joggers- and the water seemed to be still asleep as well.

Staring at the seemingly endless blue, I didn't pay any attention to where I was going.

A yelp, a scream and..._Crash_.

I was on the ground before I even knew it.

Or more like partially on the ground.

I was pretty sure that the soft and warm thing beneath me was a body.

Moving my arms to push myself up, I came to the realization that I was lying on top of a male body.

Or maybe it was a woman with very impressive biceps.

"You scream like a girl," I mumbled and got myself in a seating position.

"So do you," the guy grunted, sitting up as well. He opened his eyes and looked at me. "You're pretty heavy for such a tiny person."

"It's all muscle," I replied and flexed my bicep.

He laughed. His laugh was deep and kind of husky.

I inspected him carefully. His hair was dark, cropped short and went along nicely with his russet coloured skin.

He kind of reminded me of Jacob.

"Oh shit. You hurt yourself," he suddenly exclaimed.

I followed his gaze and noticed that I had scrapped my knee.

Rolling my eyes, I ran my hand over the small injury.

"It's nothing. I've had a lot worse."

"Sure that you don't want a plaster or something?" he inquired.

I sighed. "I'm a dancer, I've had worse."

The look in his eyes changed- he looked a bit more reserved.

"Dancer, huh? I don't suppose you attend the Academy?"

"Sure do," I responded.

He nodded slowly and got to his feet.

Only then I noticed the skateboard a couple of feet away from us.

I guess that explained the crash.

"Need a hand?" the guy asked, holding out his hand to me.

I took it gratefully and slowly got on my feet.

Just when I thought I stood safely on my skates again I lost my balance and stumbled awkwardly.

I was caught before I hit the ground and heard a chuckle come from the guy.

"Not very graceful for a ballerina," he noted.

I snorted and regained my posture.

"Could be because I'm not a ballerina."

He gave me a confused look.

"I thought you're a student at the Academy."

"I am."

"The Estelle Étoile Academy?"

"Yes."

"Then you are a ballerina."

"Nope."

His eyebrows rose.

"How does that work?"

"I'm not gonna share my life story with some stranger."

He grinned.

"I'm Sam," he introduced himself and held out his hand again.

I shook it, grinning back at him.

"Bella."

"Alright Bella, want to go and grab a bite to eat? We could get to know each other and you could tell me that story of yours," he proposed.

Looking at him, I thought about that. Seeing that I had nothing better to do anyway I figured that I should take him up on his offer.

At least that way I would get to enjoy the presence of a normal person.

"Good thing that I didn't have anything for breakfast," I told him.

"No breakfast, huh? Some kind of ballerina diet?" he asked with a half-smile.

Sam grabbed his skateboard.

"Yup. It's the _I-left-in-a-hurry-this-morning-to-avoid-my-stupid-classmates_ diet," I informed him as we slowly skated next to each other.

Sam chuckled.

"I don't think that you need to lose any weight, though."

"Aw, aren't you a cute one?"

"Yep, that's what my girlfriend says," he replied.

I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Girlfriend?"

"What, you thought a guy like me would be single?" He gestured toward himself and smiled cockily.

I pulled a grimace.

"Probably not," I admitted. "Just let it be known that I don't want to be part of any teenage drama because we're hanging out."

Just the thought of the whole stay-away-from-my-boyfriend thing that girls liked to do every now and then made me shudder.

"No need to worry about that. I was actually on my way to have breakfast with Emily and her friend before you tackled me to the ground," Sam reassured me.

"I didn't tackle you," I protested, "You're the one who steamrolled over me."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"I will."

Sam smiled at me and pointed at a small coffee shop that came into sight.

"Race you there." He picked up the speed on his skateboard immediately with a laugh.

I shook my head at him and sped up as well.

It didn't take too much effort to overtake Sam.

Turning around, I waved at him.

Instead of looking annoyed like I had expected, Sam's eyes widened.

"Bella, watch o-"

I stumbled and fell against a door, which immediately opened at the impact.

Falling face first into the room, I briefly wondered if I would continue falling all day.

"Jesus," a startled voice exclaimed and I heard steps hurrying into my direction.

I groaned feeling the pain in my bones and turned unto my back.

Opening my eyes slowly, I saw Sam's face looking down on me.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

"Sure."

Another face appeared right in front of mine, causing me to flinch.

"Did you hurt yourself? Are you in pain? Should I call an ambulance?"

The girl seemed to be pretty frantic, inspecting me with a worried expression.

"Emily, relax," I heard Sam say, his voice a bit further away.

"Sam, she hurt herself. Did you see the way she fell in here?"

"I'm telling you that she is fine. She's just not able to stay upright for a long amount of time. Just give her some space to breath and get up, and pour me some coffee."

Emily threw a look over her shoulder and then looked back at me.

"Are you really okay?" she asked me.

"Yes, I'm fine," I told her, starting to feel uncomfortable on the floor.

"Alright," she sighed, "But take those things off in here. I don't want to wipe away your blood in case you fall again."

With that said she vanished out of my line of sight.

I rubbed my forehead, feeling that there was a bump forming.

"Maybe you should get her an ice pack or something for her head," I heard someone suggest.

It was a female voice that I hadn't heard before.

I sat up slowly and looked around.

The coffee shop was small, cozy and really empty.

While I quickly got rid of my skates, I heard Emily approach me again.

She handed me an ice pack with a sweet smile.

"You should join us at the counter instead of sitting on the floor," she said and then picked up my skates and took them with her.

I got up, enjoying the feeling of steady ground beneath my feet and sat down on a stool next to Sam.

Pressing the ice pack tightly against the little bump, I sighed contently.

"Are we ever going to hear who that is?"

I looked up and noticed a girl sitting on Sam's other side.

My eyes searched for Emily, but she appeared behind the counter saving me the effort.

Sam shook his head.

"No way. I'm not going to tell you guys anything until I get my coffee."

Emily sighed and quickly placed a coffee mug in front of him, filling it with coffee.

"There," she said," Now do the introductions."

"Bella, this is my girlfriend Emily and this annoying little creature over here is—"

"-pretty damn awesome," the girl barged in and leaned forward so I could see her better.

"I'm Leah," she then added with a large grin.

Sam rolled his eyes at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Bella," Emily said pleasantly and I nodded at her before I turned my gaze back at Leah.

"Your hair is..."

"I know, I know. It's the coolest ever," she said and started playing with her hair strands.

"Most definitely," I agreed.

"No need to stroke her ego, Bella," Sam warned me.

I ignored him.

Normally, I wasn't one to compliment another girl's hair, but Leah's hair was dyed in a purple gradient going from black to a slightly glowing purple in the tips.

"I don't think her ego can get any bigger than it already is," Emily commented. "But Leah's ego aside- don't you guys want to tell us how and where you met? I don't think I have ever seen you around or even heard of you, Bella."

"She's at the Academy," Sam blurted out right after Emily finished speaking.

It was like he had been waiting to say this all along.

Emily looked at me with a surprised expression, while I heard a yelp come from Leah.

"You're a stick dancer?" Leah asked me.

"Stick dancer?"

"Dancer with a stick up your ass," she clarified.

I giggled. Demetri and Leah would probably get along pretty well.

"No, I'm not," I responded and then looked at Emily. "Can I have some coffee as well?"

She nodded and poured me some as well.

"She says she is not a ballerina but still attends the Academy," Sam informed them.

"How does that work?" Emily asked.

I took a sip from my coffee and felt immediately better. All that I was missing in this moment was a cigarette and I would truly feel at home.

"Oh, it works alright. With enough money and time they can make a Ballet dancer out of you. Just take Super-Blondie, for instance. When she arrived there she was just a dress-up doll. Now after the teachers have given up every ounce of patience with her, drilling her over the last two years, she's Barbie in the nutcracker," Leah said.

"Who's Super-Blondie? Tanya Denali?" I asked curiously.

Leah snorted. "No, no. Miss Denali has been put into pointe shoes before she could even walk. That's why her feet look so deformed," Leah giggled, "I'm talking about Rosalie Hale. She and her twin brother had been taking Ballet classes since they were little. At some point though, Rosalie had decided that the whole tutu business was too much for her and stopped. Jasper attended the summer workshop of the Academy for a couple of years and when Rosalie seemed to have gotten in some kind of trouble at home, her parents sent both of them in for the first year as _Petites_."

"What the hell are _Petites_?" I asked incredulous.

Leah quirked an eyebrow at me.

"There are four classes in the Academy. The senior class, the junior class, the sophomores and the petites. Most dancers start there as sophomores, but some are starting earlier to work a bit more on their basics," she explained.

I just stared at her for a moment before I opened my mouth to ask, "Why the hell do you know this much about the Academy and their students?"

Sam let out a mean little cackle, resulting in Leah hitting him.

"Oh Leah is a student there herself," Emily answered my question.

Taking a sip of my coffee had definitely been a bad idea. I sprayed the contents of my mouth over the entire surface in front of me.

Sam laughed while Emily quickly cleaned up the mess.

"Can't you hold your liquor, woman?" Leah asked me in slight annoyance.

"There is no way that you are a student there," I shouted in disbelief.

Leah rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Sorry to tell you this, but I really am in this school. Always have been. Well, for the last three years."

"You're a senior?"

"Yup."

"How come I haven't seen you there?"

Leah held up her leg. A cast covered her right foot and half of her leg.

"Oh," I said, "I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry. I really enjoy the freedom."

"You know, with your hair and the cast I really think that you would have been hard to miss."

"I don't live in the school," Leah told me.

"You don't?"

"No, my parents live up here in the reservation so I don't have to stay in the school for the duration of my bench time."

"Oh god. You're lucky. I wish my home was that close."

I sighed. It would actually be enough if my friends were nearby. They were my home.

"Where are you from?" Emily asked then.

"Phoenix," I answered curtly.

"Whoa, that's the exact opposite of Forks," Sam noted and then put an arm around my shoulder. "I'm really sorry for your loss."

I looked up at him, startled.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, my heart beating a bit faster.

"Well, you had to give up the sun. Here in Forks the sun shines maybe twice a year and then only for five minutes. Solar energy is definitely not being used here," he said with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

I exhaled in relief. I should have known that it was something along those lines.

How in the world would he have known anything about my mother?

"Hey, let's get back on track here," Leah complained. "I want to know how you managed to get in so late with absolutely no experience."

Looking at her, I saw the expectant expression on her face.

"Who said that I don't have any experience?" I asked coyly.

Leah rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about dancing here. Get your mind out of gutter."

"I was talking about dancing as well."

"Okay," Leah said slowly, pulling a grimace. "I'm lost."

"I don't get it either," Sam admitted and Emily nodded in agreement.

Letting out a sigh, I said, "It's a long story."

"Psh, I bet it's not. People usually say that so they don't have to tell their story," Leah remarked.

"No fair," Sam wailed," You promised you would tell me if we got to know each other better."

"Well, have we gotten to know each other much?"

"Yes, I introduced you to my girlfriend and one of my closest friends."

I rolled my eyes and decided to give in. The reason of my being here wasn't really a secret anyway.

"Okay, okay. There isn't really much to tell-"

"Ha, I knew it," Leah trumpeted.

I ignored her.

"My father just sent me off to the Academy as a punishment. End of story."

The three of them looked at me.

"He just sent you off to a Ballet Academy? Couldn't he have just gone for a traditional boarding school? Some catholic school, maybe," Emily wondered.

"Stop promoting catholic schools, Emily," Leah scowled and then said to me," She used to go to a catholic school before she moved here with her family."

I looked at Emily. "Where did you live before?"

"Oh, not too far away. We used to live in Seattle, but my Dad decided then he wanted to be closer to his family again."

There was certain sadness in her eyes as she said that and I wondered if there was more to the story than she let on.

I wanted to ask but decided against it. After all, I never told my full story either.

"Anyway, why did your Dad sent you to Estelle Étoile?"

I grimaced.

"I used to dance Ballet, so he probably thought it was a good idea to throw me back into it."

"Used to?" Leah's voice was a bit muffled, which probably had to do with the fact that she just shoved a cupcake into her mouth.

"Yeah, I kind of changed my route toward Hip Hop and I even have a crew back at home-"

"Hold on," Leah cut me off," Are you trying to tell us that you have been taking Ballet classes sometime in the past, probably as a kid, and then moved on to Hip Hop which is what you have been doing the whole time until your Dad decided to ship you off to a Ballet school?"

"Err... yes."

"How the hell did he convince Madam Esme to take you in?"

Leah sounded really curious, while Sam and Emily snickered and repeated 'Madam Esme' with high pitched voices.

I shook my head at them, but couldn't help the smile that crept unto my lips.

"I don't know," I shrugged in answer to Leah's question. "Maybe she felt like she needed to help me. After all, it was either the Academy or juvi."

Sam and Emily fell silent instantly.

"Juvi? What did you do? Destroy the props in a prestigious school theater?" Sam joked.

Leah kicked him.

"I know you have a crush on Channing Tatum, but this is an important matter." She turned her attention back to me, while Emily was giggling hysterically. "What the hell did you do that almost got you into juvi?"

"Nothing," I immediately defended myself, not liking her accusing tone.

Leah just quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Okay, so maybe I have done something but mainly it was just my father overreacting. He's a cop, so obviously he expects me to respect the law."

"Ugh, your Dad's a cop? In that case you'd only have to be caught with a smoke in your mouth once and he would put handcuffs on you."

As if to underline her words, she pulled out a box with cigarettes.

"I thought you had quit smoking?" Emily voiced, when Leah exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"When did I ever say that?"

"Didn't your Mom tell you to quit?"

"She did, but she also told me to dye my hair black again and she wanted me to lose three pounds."

"Well, the last point is indeed ridiculous."

"How the hell did _your_ parents convince Madam Esme to take you into the school?" I asked, turning her earlier words back at her.

She looked at me with a grin. "Didn't need to. I've been living here since I was little and when I was six my mother paid Madam Esme to give me private lessons. I've been dancing ever since."

Looking at Leah really made me wonder why in the world she was so different from anybody else I had seen so far at the school.

"You know, I just recently dyed my hair. It hadn't been like this before. Nobody at the academy has even seen it. Not that it matters, they all already know that I'm not into the whole thing as much as they are."

"You don't like to dance?"

"Oh, I love to dance. But it's just dancing. There is no need to act all weird because of it. I understand that there has to be a certain seriousness and all, but I don't get why some people start acting totally arrogant just because of Ballet."

I could only nod in agreement.

Leah continued, "You know, you should totally show me some of your moves as soon as I'm back on both of my feet. Paul taught me a few things, but he's not really patient so he stopped doing that."

"Who is Paul?"

Leah pulled a grimace.

"He's my boyfriend," she answered.

I didn't know why that would make her scrunch up her face, but I didn't say anything about that.

"Leah, go and continue smoking outside. We're opening in thirty minutes and I don't want the smell of smoke in here," Emily complained.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Leah replied and got up. She looked at me. "Wanna join me?"

Smiling, I got up as well.

"Sure."

We step outside, where she threw her smoke away only to light a new one. She offered to me.

"You smoke?"

I took one and shrugged. "Occasionally."

"Psh and here I thought you were responsible."

"As if...there is a reason why my Dad sent me off."

"Oh yeah, you still really didn't tell what you did to deserve this." She waved her hands around.

I shrugged again.

"Nothing worth mentioning. It's mostly just under aged drinking and vandalism. Although, most of the times I didn't have anything to do with it. In our crew, I'm actually more the quite one, but when we all get drunk together sometimes stupid stuff happens. We got caught a couple of times and I should have done community service hundreds of times, but I didn't. That's why my Dad sent me off."

Leah looked at me disbelievingly.

"That's it? Because of under aged drinking?"

"Well, he thinks I'm also violent because the last time he was the one who caught me and I had this guy next to me, who had gotten beaten up by my friends a-"

"What kind of friends are they?"

"They're not as bad as it may sound. They are all really great people. Almost like my family."

I smiled softly.

"Sure, my family gets me into jail all the time as well," Leah commented.

"I didn't go to jail yet," I remarked.

"Of course you did. You're at the Academy now. The only difference is the food."

I snorted at that. She had voiced my exact thoughts.

We sat on the porch in silence for a few minutes, watching people passing by.

"So how long did you dance Ballet?" Leah asked, catching me off guard.

"A while," I answered vaguely.

Leah didn't look at me.

"I'm guessing that it was a long while."

She was making it sound like a question.

I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to answer this.

"It's okay; you don't have to tell me. I just figured that you must have a lot more dancing experience than you let on, otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted at the Academy."

I stayed silent.

"Why did you stop dancing?"

Biting my lip, I still stayed silent.

Instead of answering I took a long drag from my cig.

It calmed my nerves, which had just started to make themselves known. That was basically the only reason why I even started smoking.

My Mom had been telling me over and over again how important my body was and that I needed to make sure to be healthy at all times. It was the core of our whole training. No matter what I did, I had to make sure not to endanger my health in any way. It was the thing she was scared of the most and the reason why she had been teaching me Ballet.

But now, it didn't matter anymore and I needed something calming every now and then. Sometimes, I felt guilty for ignoring my mother's wishes like that, but I had learned to ignore that feeling.

"Something bad, huh?" Leah questioned, taking my silence as an answer.

I shrugged.

"So how did classes go for you then?"

I let out a humorless snort. "Incredible. I spent the whole week stretching after I made them all understand that I would not be dancing."

"Ewe. Your muscles must ache like crazy."

"Meh, it's not so bad when I'm moving around. I'm just really fucked up when I get up in the mornings."

Leah giggled.

"So who are your roommates?"

"Victoria Carter and Irina Sullivan."

Leah made an unimpressed sound.

"I thought you would have gotten someone more interesting."

"In that school?"

"They are not all that bad, but I get your point." She suddenly started scowling at her cast. "If it weren't for this stupid thing, I would totally hang out with you at school."

"Ah, I guess I'll just have to manage without you."

"Yeah, but you can visit me after a school and give me the dirty details about what's going on while I'm gone."

Leah rubbed her hands together and wore a mean grin.

I wasn't sure if I should approve of this kind of behaviour.

"I could try, but I'm not really a social butterfly over there."

"What? How does that work? You're a hottie, you have to be a 'social butterfly'," Leah said, looking truly disturbed by this information.

A hottie? Now I don't know about that...

"Well, I kind of stand out with my way of dressing," I started.

Leah looked at me.

I wore a pair of jeans hot pants today and a wide shirt that definitely didn't compliment me in any way. But it looked alright to me and it was comfortable.

"Yeah, I guess that must have made you stand out on the first day. But it's no big deal. Lots of people dress a bit differently than the majority. Take me for instance."

"I also mentioned the whole juvi thing, but didn't get to explain it any further. That added to the fact that I got into an argument with that Edward kid kind of led to my current social status, I think. It could also be my disrespectful behaviour on my first day towards Madam Justins or that I'm not taking part in any dancing activities. I don't know and I most certainly don't care."

I took one last drag and threw the smoke away.

Leah gaped at me for a few moments before she spoke.

"It sounds like you've made an awesome first impression," she stated slowly, "But I kind of have a feeling that you are just radiating 'Back off' waves, so it doesn't surprise me that people leave you alone. Okay, and maybe the whole juvi thing is also kind of... unsettling. And you got into a fight with...Edward Cullen?"

"Is his name Cullen?"

"Well, if he is that gorgeous guy with the greenest eyes ever and this crazy, tousled and bronze coloured hair- then, yes his name is Cullen."

I sent Leah a pointed look.

"I thought you had a boyfriend?"

"I do and he values my good taste."

I was just about to respond something to that when I made a sudden realization.

"Wait...you said his name is Edward Cullen?"

"Yeah."

"Is he related to Madam Esme?"

Now it was Leah's turn to look at me pointedly.

"Uhh...yeah. He's her son."

"Oh shit," I cursed.

"Ah, no need to worry. He's probably not going to his Mom to complain about you," Leah reassured me.

"Probably? What is that supposed to tell me?"

"Well, I don't really know him all that well and I know that he once reported James, but that was at the workshop three years ago."

I let out a deep breath.

"I don't even care if he reports me. I haven't done anything wrong, for once."

"What was the fight about?"

"Nothing interesting really. I was just pissed because he said that street trash cannot just be put into a dancing studio."

Leah looked surprised. "He really said that?"

"He did."

"What a prick."

I nodded in agreement.

"Jeez, and here I always thought he was such a nice guy."

A growl from my stomach followed her words.

Leah laughed.

"I guess we should get back in there and ask Emily if we can get some pancakes or something."

I jumped up immediately at the sound of this, grinning almost wide enough to split my face.

"I can see that you are just as crazy about pancakes as I am. Seeing that you are quite interesting and entertaining so far, I'd say that we are going to have a long friendship," she stated and hooked her arm though mine.

Seeing that she was one of the few normal persons I had met so far, I decided to agree with her.

"Long and beautiful, my friend," I corrected her, "Long and beautiful."

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><p><em><strong>AN:**_** So Bella has made some new friends. Aren't we all happy for her? **

**What do you think of Leah, Sam and Emily? **

**Tell me everything that went on in your head whilst reading this chapter :) I'll be waiting for those reviews**

**Lot's of love to all of you **

**xoxo**


	5. Jail Moves and Asshole Moments

**_A/N:_ Who should I thank, who should I thank? Hmm... Ah yes! **

**No. 1- my lovely beta justareaderfan, who gets up early in the morning, endures my ramblings about triplets and accents aaaand betas an enitre chapter in no time. I'm so lucky to have her. Insanity is infact so much better when you share it :)**

**No.2- lish the fish has pre-read the chapter ( only out of selfish reasons, tbh) and made me type sooo... thanks for that fishy ;) My distraction when I need it and even when I don't... I love you all the same, 'cause... come on, who doesn't love fish?**

**No.3- Hopeful Smile has not only reviewed as often as possible ( and I really do mean it like that) she has also motivated me to type and type and continue typing because she wanted to see some updates. THe result was that I not only updated this story but also _High Stakes in High Heels_. If you don't know that story go and check it out (after you read this chapter, of course). Also thank you Hopeful Smile for worrying about my health :) That was really cute and I looooove cute!**

**So yeah, I could actually go on with my thank you speech, because I got some pretty nice reviews... but I think you all want to read, if you haven't ignored my rambling already -.-**

**Okay, let's get to reading:**

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><p><strong>Edward POV<strong>

The day started like any other day. Rosalie annoyed the piss out of me during Pas de Deux class, Emmett got on my nerves and Alice thought that I cared about the fact that we had a new student. Of course, I had already known that. Mom had mentioned it yesterday at dinner but I hadn't paid any attention. My mind had been preoccupied with the fact that I had gotten Rosalie Hale as my dancing partner.

At first I had been grateful that I had gotten her as a partner - I was rather picky when it came to choosing a partner. My dancing partner should be able to keep up with me and even more importantly, should not be hitting on me.

Rosalie seemed to be the perfect choice, since her dancing had improved a lot since she had come to this school and she was definitely not interested in me. But now that she was my partner, I was thoroughly annoyed with her. We were just not compatible as dancing partners and it was messing with my concentration. School had just started a couple of weeks ago and I'm already waiting for the next holiday.

The worst thing was that the Pas de Deux partners that we get in our junior year will be our partners for the remainder of our school time. How exactly that is supposed to be working out for Rosalie and myself is a mystery to me, but maybe if we practice enough we'll finally manage to dance with each other.

I sighed at the thought. I didn't like it when I had to worry about extra stuff like this.

"Edward," Rosalie hissed, pulling me out of my thoughts, "your hands are all wrong." She placed my hands a bit higher, which I found ridiculous because that was not where my hands were supposed to be.

We made it through class with lots of hissing at each other, since Rosalie was not okay with the way I led her and I couldn't really work with her steps. They just didn't match with mine. I was more than relieved when the class ended and made my way to Technique class. At least there I could be sure that I was doing just fine, since I didn't have a partner that kept messing up.

"I wonder if you and Rosalie will ever manage to dance with each other," Emmett mused beside me. "Maybe you should just ask Madam Cope if you can have a new dance partner."

"I can't have another dance partner. You know how the girls in our year are."

Emmett laughed. "Right, I forgot. They all love you because you are so pretty."

I huffed at that.

"Come on, man, it's not that bad to have some chick hitting on you. You could dance with Tanya - she's been dying to dance with you ever since she stepped foot into this school. Besides, she's hot."

"She also has bad feet and I don't want to spend my entire time running away from her because she thinks that we're together. She did that during the workshops and I don't want a repeat of that. It was exhausting."

"Suit yourself, bro. I'm just concerned because of your score. Rosalie must be dragging you down. What was your rank last week?"

I grit my teeth together.

Third place.

That was definitely unacceptable. I had always been first.

Emmett clapped a hand on my back. "No need to worry. You'll regain your spot." His word in God's ear.

"Alright boys. Let's repeat what we learned yesterday," Mr. Banner just walked into the studio, clapping his hands to gain our attention. "On the barre. Rond de jambe and demi-pointe. Let's go."

We went through the routine various times during class, always making new adjustments and correcting minor mistakes. My frustration with Rosalie kept haunting me, so I messed up a lot more than I intended to.

By the time lunch came around I was ready to fall into bed and sleep until the next morning. My concentration only got worse now that everybody couldn't seem to shut up about that new girl.

I think her name was Belle or something like that. I bet the teachers all get a kick out of that name. It's one of those names which immediately go along with grace. Like Giselle or something.

"She's kind of anti-social," Alice blabbered, "I talked to her earlier and she just ignored me. But she winked at me in class. I'm not sure what her deal is but I think I have a new project."

Everyone at the table groaned.

"Why can't you just look for normal friends, Al?" Rose asked in annoyance.

"Because normal is boring and everybody needs friends. It's not fair to outcast people."

"Alice, I think if she wanted to be your friend she would make some effort. You can't just pick out random people and try to change them for good. Besides, it hardly ever works. Irina is still a robot," I pointed out.

"Yes, but Rose is now my friend, is she not? I just want to give her a chance and not change her. You guys are a bit stuck up sometimes." Alice turned her attention to her food then while the rest of us just shrugged and didn't say anything else to that.

It was her decision after all with whom she wanted to be friends. But knowing my cousin, she would most likely try to make us part of it as well.

"Well, I'm sure that the hip-hop queen is more interesting than some other figures that walk around here, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining," Rose muttered. It was her way of saying that she was supporting Alice in her stupid quest to befriend the new girl.

"Hip-hop queen?" Emmett asked curiously.

Rose threw an annoyed glance in his direction. She always did that whenever he spoke.

"Mind explaining?" Emmett pressed when he didn't get an answer.

Alice sighed, most likely not in the mood for the upcoming bitch fit that Rose was most likely going to have. "Just look at her Emmett. There she is." Alice pointed toward a table at the far side of the cafeteria.

The table was occupied by one person.

Her baggy pants were the first thing I noticed, before I took in the rest of her appearance. Rose's words described her quite well. There was no other way to describe that baggy look of hers. Her feet were resting on the chair next to her, as if she was showing off her remarkably white sneakers, but seeing that she was on the phone I guessed she was just making herself comfortable. It was quite amusing to see the entire student body staring at this one girl, who seemed to be pretty oblivious.

She was laughing and threw her long mahogany hair over her shoulder. I couldn't see her face all that well, but from what I could see I wouldn't say that she was ugly.

"Do you think she's some kind of ghetto kid?" Emmett asked excitedly. I honestly didn't get why that thought excited him so much.

Alice shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. She's definitely not some spoiled rich kid." She threw a sly look at Rose, who just pulled a grimace at her in response

"Where did she come from?" Jasper now asked, finally taking part in this conversation.

All eyes came to rest on me.

"What?" I asked self-consciously.

"Your mother is Headmistress, remember?" Rose said slowly as if I was mentally challenged.

"So?"

"So she certainly must have mentioned the new girl at some point and might have told you where she's from."

"She did talk about her, but I didn't listen." I shrugged and turned my attention back to my food.

Emmett groaned. "Jeez, Eddie. You need to stop focusing so much on yourself. It can't be healthy."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's talking about the fact that you are kind of self-absorbed and arrogant," Rose chimed in.

Jasper seemed to have swallowed the wrong way and coughed loudly.

Alice was by his side immediately, patting his back while she threw an odd look in Rose's direction.

"I am not arrogant," I protested.

"Well, you seem pretty arrogant. Especially when you fail to notice other people around you. Sometimes you just have those really big asshole-moments."

"Did I offend you in any way?" I asked Rose, getting the feeling that she was upset with me for a particular reason.

She just shook her head at me and didn't say anything.

When I looked at Emmett in question, he just shrugged.

Huh. Whatever.

Lunch passed without any interesting incidents.

I noticed that the new student walked out of the cafeteria ten minutes before we even finished lunch.

"Yay, Musical History," Rose cheered half-heartedly when we all made our way to the classrooms.

I understood her lack of enthusiasm. I didn't like that subject either. But thankfully I had French class now. I didn't really have to pay much attention there.

The rest of the day passed more or less in a blur. I noticed the new girl again in my English Lit class. It was hard not to notice her. Not only because of her appearance, but also because she sat right in front of me. She seemed to be dozing off during class, judging by the way she put her head on the table and didn't move until the bell rang.

Not that I cared.

When classes finally ended, I made my way to my room. Emmett was already there and had his bad music on full blast. I honestly didn't understand how he could listen to rap music, but I barely ever commented. I just changed quickly into more casual clothes and left the room again.

I let myself into one of the music rooms and sat down in front of the piano. We weren't really supposed to be in these rooms without the permission of a teacher, but every time a teacher had walked in and asked if I was allowed to be in there, I just told them that my mom had said it was okay. It worked every time. Except if it was my mother who walked in, but she was easily distracted by music.

Being far away from Emmett's music, my head cleared and allowed me to make up some new melodies that I easily played on the piano. Letting my hands run over the familiar keys was always relaxing to me.

I didn't know how long I had been playing, but eventually I returned to my room where Jasper and Emmett were playing cards. I joined them and we played until it was time for us to get ready for bed.

Just a usual day at the academy.

The next morning started like every other morning. I woke up, got dressed and had breakfast. Although this time Alice and Rose were not sitting with us.

"They joined Victoria and Irina," Jasper told me when I asked. "Apparently the new girl is their roommate."

I shrugged it off then, not interested enough in the whole thing.

After breakfast I made my way to the dance studio where we would have Pas de Deux classes. Rosalie wasn't there yet, which kind of pissed me off since I needed to talk to her

We would never be able to dance together if she kept slacking off like that. She should be standing at a barre right now, stretching and listening to what I have to tell her. I had thought a lot about yesterday's class and intended to correct the mistakes she had made so that I would have it easier with her. But of course, she was nowhere in sight.

"Morning boys," Alice's chipper voice ripped me out of my annoyed thoughts. She was practically bouncing in front of us.

"Alice, how much coffee did you have?" Jasper asked worriedly. Well, he should be worried. When Alice is hyper like that, it's hard for him to keep up and that's kind of bad considering they are dancing partners.

"I didn't have any coffee," Alice replied, but continued bouncing. It was moments like these that made me wonder if we were really related.

"She's just so excited because she feels challenged," Rose informed us dryly.

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

"Bella doesn't dance," Alice blurted out. "I'm so gonna make her dance."

"Err...Who is Bella?" Emmett sounded genuinely confused.

At that, Alice let out a shocked gasp, turned around and dragged Rose along with her.

"Did I insult her or something?"

"No, I bet she's going to introduce you to Bella now," I told him.

"I'm guessing Bella's the new girl," mumbled Jasper.

"What makes you think that?"

I shook my head at Emmett. Sometimes he was really dense.

"Have you ever heard of her?"

"No."

"Well there you have it then. Besides, I don't think there's any student in the school that doesn't dance - apart from her now."

The thought bothered me immensely. Back when Rosalie started here, she'd held up the progress of the entire class because the teachers always had to correct her and pay special attention to her.

Now I didn't want that same shit in my junior year. I was trying to learn something new and not repeating the basics over and over again. How were we supposed to put something decent together for the showcase when we were most likely going to spend our time teaching Bella how to stand straight?

Well, maybe it wasn't even like that. She had only been here for a day after all. It could be that she was just shy to dance or something.

Alice's voice pulled me out of my thoughts yet again. "Okay, meet Jasper," she chirped, barging into our little circle. "He's Rosalie's twin brother."

The new girl inspected him briefly before shaking his hand. She was dressed more appropriately today.

"And this is Emmett. There is absolutely nothing you need to know about him. Just hang around with him for five minutes and you know more than you want to."

"You're just jealous because I'm prettier than you," Emmett retorted, thinking he was funny.

"Sure," Alice said and continued with the introductions. "And last but not least, this is Edward. He's Rose's Pas de Deux partner. You should watch the two of them during class. It's hilarious."

I scowled at her words briefly and then looked at the tiny brunette in front of me more carefully.

"And guys, this is Bella, our new student. She has a few attitude problems and has been sent here for some adjusting," Alice announced in a happy voice.

I knew those words. She'd said them before. And just like that my hopes that this Bella person might be at least an average dancer disappeared.

"Not again," I groaned along with the other two boys. The last time Alice had said that we had to endure Rosalie's incompetence.

Bella's brown eyes widened in confusion, making her look like an innocent child. I had to admit that she was really pretty, but that was hardly the point here.

"Seriously, I don't know why they keep doing this. We can't always start from scratch just because some new kid doesn't know what the hell she's doing," Emmett complained. I silently agreed with him.

Rosalie glared at Emmett. "Maybe you didn't notice, but I'm a better dance than you are," she hissed.

I ignored that and tried to stay positive. "I hope you had a better ballet teacher in your childhood than Rose because she barely knew the basics when she came here," I said to Bella. That was entirely true. Unlike Jasper, Rose had never attended the summer workshops and therefore didn't know anything when she came here.

"It doesn't really matter. I'm not going to dance," she responded. She sounded a bit snippy when she said that.

I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit relieved by her words.

"What are you here for then?" Jasper questioned.

It was a good question.

Despite the fact that I didn't mind that she wasn't going to dance, I didn't understand why she would be here then. The only thing that we all did here was dance.

"It was either this or juvi. I picked the one with the better food."

I'm pretty sure I heard my jaw drop to the ground.

Juvi?

What in the world had my mother let in here?

She was the one who always preached about how our behaviour reflects on the image of the school and how we should always try our best and so on, yet she lets some criminal into our school.

_Way to go, Mom._

"You're like...a criminal?" Alice asked her in a small voice.

Poor Alice. She hadn't been prepared for that. She thought she was going to make a new friend and what she got was some street kid with a criminal record. Who knew if she was violent? Although she certainly didn't look like it. To be quite honest she looked just like a ballerina should. Pretty and slim with a trained dancer's body. It was easy to see.

At this point I was confused. How can she look like a dancer and not be a dancer?

"No, I'm not. I just have an obnoxious father, who just happens to be the Chief of Police in Phoenix and decided to tag along with his buddy, who is a patrol officer."

"I don't get it."

"He caught me with a guy in my arms that had been beaten beyond compare and noticed my slightly drunken state." Bella sounded a bit too cheerful when she said that.

So she was violent after all. Great, just great.

I hoped Alice wouldn't sneak into my bed when she got scared at night.

"So you are a criminal," Rose stated after a short silence.

"It depends on how you see it."

"Wow...I'm not sure if we can get her to even do a plié," Jasper mumbled.

"How come they sent you off to a ballet academy then? Obviously you can't just learn ballet like that. It takes a lot of hard work," Alice asked, probably voicing the thoughts of us all.

Bella sighed. "I used to dance ballet before I moved on to street dance."

Street dance? Okay, now I had the explanation as to why her body was so trained, but seriously?

_Mom, what have you been thinking?_

"So what, because you did some tutu shaking as a kid, your father thought you could keep up at a school like this?" Rose questioned.

"Apparently. Maybe he thinks that all dancing is the same. Which it obviously isn't."

"Obviously not. You can't just put some street trash into a dancing studio." The words were out of my mouth before I even noticed.

I even regretted them a little, since I didn't refer to her as a person. I just didn't like the whole 'ghetto scene' or whatever you wanted to call it. It was just...trashy.

Bella glared at me, obviously thinking I had intended to insult her. "What did you just say?"

"I didn't talk about you as a person. I just think that the whole hip-hop scene is kinda trashy."

Just thinking about Emmett's rap music made me cringe. Definitely not my style.

Bella scoffed at that. "Of course you would think that. It's amazing how all of you sugar plum fairies always think that you are so awesome and great with your tights in prissy little dancing studios, while we actually have to deal with real life and every fucked up aspect of it. You are not as wonderful as you all think you are, because when it comes down to it, only a handful of people in this school will be actual dancers. The rest of you are going to be thrown onto the street where you won't even survive for a second because your pointe shoes aren't really the best shoes to be running in."

Seems like I'd hit a nerve.

"What, are you trying to scare us with your little ghetto stories now?" I raised my eyebrows at that. I knew that this stuff always happened in the movies, where the ghetto kid tries to be cool by scaring the more fortunate kids. Yeah, not gonna happen in this case.

"I would love to, but I'm not even sure if we speak the same language."

The remark was kind of idiotic considering we were talking to each other in that very moment and I understood her just fine. But if she wanted to play the tough ghetto girl...

"Right, because only total gangster dudes get the stuff that is coming out of your mouth." That shut her up.

For a moment at least

"Total gangster dudes?" She shook her head. "This is like being in a fucking movie. The only thing that is missing is your male counterpart."

I glared at her. This girl was starting to get on my nerves. I had by far better things to do than stand here and argue with her about nothing in particular. The whole situation didn't even make much sense.

Emmett snickered in the background, like the moron he was.

"Why? You're standing right in front of me," I retorted.

Great, now I stooped down to her level. I sighed inwardly. So much for my concentration before class.

"Yeah and isn't it nice that I didn't have to stuff my pants so that it looks like there is actually something in it?" She smiled brightly, making me blink.

She had a pretty smile.

_Wait, Cullen. Get a grip. She just insulted you. You and your manliness._

Thankfully Madam Cope chose that moment to walk in.

I wouldn't have known how to respond to that.

Bella smiled arrogantly at me and spun around, leaving me a bit stunned.

"I like her," Emmett remarked and chuckled. He shut his giant trap, though, when Irina walked up to him and started her usual list of instructions.

I really wished I could switch dancing partners with Emmett.

"Stop gaping like an idiot," Rose instructed.

I shot her an annoyed glance but didn't say anything as we got into positions.

Meanwhile, Madam Cope told Bella that she would be stretching at the side of the room. Well, at least she wouldn't be intruding class. Not much at least.

Then she turned our attention back to us. "Same as yesterday. I want synchronized steps, a piroutte, two steps demi-pointe a la secondeand you end in fourth position," Madam Cope instructed. She clapped twice to get the class moving.

The first three couples crossed the room, following the instructions.

"Mr. Rainsford shoulders wide and head up. I don't ever want to see that again."

And that's how it went for the rest of class. We danced and Madam Cope corrected.

"Mr. Cullen, more expression please."

"Ms. Hale, stretch those legs out."

"Rosalie and Edward, at least try to make it look like dancing."

I was getting more and more frustrated in the duration of this lesson.

Madam Cope let us be for a moment to go and talk to Bella, who was sitting on the floor. When she turned back to us, she looked at me immediately. "Edward, re-position your hands. Your grip on Ms. Hale is just disastrous."

I mentally scolded myself for losing concentration and quickly corrected myself.

I heard a giggle. Looking up, I realized that it was Bella who was laughing at me. I glared at her in return.

I sincerely hoped that Alice didn't want to be friends with her anyway, because I didn't want to have anything to do with her. I just had to ask my mother what in the world had been going on in her head when she accepted this girl into our academy.

I didn't get to talk to my mother though.

The rest of the week I was fairly busy with school, and my mom was even more occupied with teaching and running the school. I only got to see her in French class and that was only because she was the teacher.

On Friday, Alice seemed to be fairly pissed.

"Which one of you did it?" she demanded when she sat down at our table.

"Did what?" Rose asked, uncaring and just continued to pick at her food.

"One of you must have told someone about Bella. You know that she has been pissed at us."

"Yeah, but I just figured it was because of Edward being a douche again."

"Me? What did I do?" I asked defensively.

"You called her street trash," Rose and Alice chorused.

"I didn't mean to insult her."

"But you did. Now she's ignoring us. Thanks, Eddie."

I didn't even understand why Rose was being so bitchy about it.

"Hey, she called me..." I tried to recall the convo.

"A sugar plum fairy," Emmett helped. "But she was referring to all of us and I thought it was pretty genius." He chuckled at the memory.

I just shot him a dirty look.

"Don't tell me that you gossiped about her because of that?" Alice asked. The look she gave me was kind of intimidating.

"What? No. I have better stuff to do than that."

She narrowed her eyes at me but eventually sat down. "Well, someone is spreading rumours about Bella being violent and having a criminal record. I don't think that is fair."

"Why do you even care? Rumours are spread all the time," Jasper asked.

"Was it you?" Alice now stared him down.

"No, I was just wondering." Unlike the rest of humanity, Jasper was not bothered by Alice's mean glares.

"Can none of you see that she's having a hard time?"

We all turned to look at Bella, who sat all by herself again. She looked quite lonely to be honest, but that was a given since she sat there by herself.

"Honestly, no," Emmett answered truthfully. "She does sit with Victoria every now and then, after all."

"I don't mean socially," Alice shook her head. "She...I don't know how to say it...but she seems sad to me. Kind of like she's hurting." Alice looked thoughtful.

"You've been watching Dr. Phil again, huh?" Rose remarked dryly.

Alice only huffed in response and ignored her.

The weekend came and passed painfully slow.

Alice was still pissed because our classmates were making up stories about Bella. The last one I heard was that she killed someone and broke out of jail.

I could only shake my head at that. As if someone who had committed murder and broke out of jail would be sent to a ballet academy.

Sometimes I had to wonder where those people left their common sense.

On Sunday we had our usual family dinner in our house. Mom usually asked about classes - although she should know how we were doing - and Dad always asked how we were feeling. As the school's personal doctor, he should know that as well, but he wasn't even at the academy until he got called, so he felt like he was missing things.

After reassuring them that we were fine, Alice immediately launched into the story of Bella being mistreated by our fellow classmates. Personally, I thought she was exaggerating, but I didn't say anything. I hardly even paid attention. I noticed that Mom showed a fair amount of compassion and I wondered about that.

Then I remembered that I had wanted to ask her something.

"Mom, why is she at the academy, anyway?" I blurted out; interrupting whatever it was Alice had been saying.

Mom gave a disapproving look. "It was her father's wish, why?"

"Because she doesn't dance. Obviously, she is in the wrong place then, right? Aren't there any hip-hop academies in the country?"

Mom's expression darkened and I wondered what that was all about. "Edward, I told you time and time again that you should start being more considerate towards other people."

I just looked at her with a blank expression.

"It's my decision who I accept and I have decided to give Bella the chance to learn something at our school. If you are not okay with that, maybe you should look for another school then. Surely there are other ballet schools in the country that suit your snobby attitude."

I gaped at my mother. Had she just called me a snob?

Stunned by my mother's reaction, I remained silent for the rest of the night.

On Monday morning, we all drove back to school and got ready fast for class.

When I walked into the dancing studio, the first person I saw was Bella, who sat on the floor close to the entrance.

Alice waved shyly at her.

Bella's eyes widened in response before she waved back half-heartedly. If I didn't know it any better I would say she had been a bit startled.

Alice didn't seem to notice this though and was in complete bliss that Bella wasn't ignoring her anymore.

In the corner of my eye I saw how Bella watched the little pixie, skipping around happily before she shook her head and pulled an iPod out of the pocket of her track pants. I hadn't seen her listening to music the whole last week, but I dismissed that and turned my attention toward Rose, who was busy arguing with Emmett.

From what I could gather they were discussing football.

Shaking my head at that, I called Rose's attention, wanting to talk to her about class. Maybe if we spoke in advance we would be able to work better with each other. I knew that it shouldn't bug me so much since no one in class was working perfectly with their partner yet, but it bothered me to be just as good as the rest were. I wanted to be the best and the fact that I got ranked fourth last week only added to that desire.

Madam Cope entered the room, returning the nod she got from Bella, who was now listening to music, and then turned her attention to us. Our little routine from last week hadn't changed much, so we started off with that.

After a few moments, though, she broke it all up. "Okay, maybe we should return to something more basic," she announced and made us all find a spot in the room. "Now ladies, on pointe. _Couru_ forwards, attitude and _couru _backwards. Gents, all that you will have to do is hold your partner. Now I don't want to see any gripping or things of the sort because the girls really won't need your support. Just a light touch, nothing more." She looked at Emmett while saying that. "Now on the count of three. _Un, deux, trois_..."

Everyone in the room moved at the same time, some more graceful, some less.

Rosalie actually did a pretty good job and since I didn't need to do much - except for go with her movements - I was happy that she had no reason to hiss at me.

"Again, please," Madam Cope instructed just when Rose finished making her tiny steps backwards.

It went like that for the next five minutes until Madam Cope seemed to be satisfied. "Very well. Now let's get back to work."

We all got into our earlier positions again, clearing the middle of the room.

"What is she doing?" Rose suddenly questioned. Her voice sounded a bit surprised.

I looked up and followed her gaze. She was staring at Bella, who had apparently given up on stretching.

She was dancing.

Sweeping from side to side, she swung her arms up in tune to music that only she could hear.

I heard some girls giggle.

Bella got into a half-crouching position, her legs still stepping from one side to the other, and somehow managed to shake her hips at the same time. It looked kind of weird. Then she took a few overly-animated steps back, apparently not even realizing that she was now invading the space that we needed to dance.

If any of us were dancing.

"She's awesome," I heard Emmett comment from next to me. He was obviously impressed by what he saw. I had to admit that I was a tiny bit fascinated myself when she started to bend her knees in and out, making her legs look like jelly.

She continued with side steps again, only this time she turned her whole body in the direction she stepped and kind of dipped her upper body. She whipped her hair as well, and even though it was all kind of weird, it was oddly entertaining to watch.

For a moment I thought she was done, but apparently she was just waiting for the music. I wondered if she even noticed that she was dancing in front of the whole class.

She continued with some crazy footwork that didn't make sense to me whatsoever and just kind of entranced everyone with her fluent movements.

"She's kind of like a snake," Rose muttered and then turned to Alice, who had suddenly appeared next to us. "Do you see that? Her whole body is moving." Rose sounded like a little child who was watching a magician on stage.

"Yeah, it's so cool," squeaked Alice quietly.

Meanwhile, I heard Irina exchanging words with Tanya. "There is absolutely no posture in that. She's slouching and ugh...I don't get how this can be classified as dancing."

_Of course not, Irina._

"Do you think they learn these moves in jail?" Tanya wondered.

I wondered why Madam Cope wasn't continuing with class. I looked for our teacher and found her watching Bella intently. There was no expression showing on her face, but she seemed to be concentrating on the exact moves.

Looking back at Bella, I noticed that her fluent, snake-like movements had become more abrupt and...robotic.

Then, without warning, she suddenly sprang back onto her hands. Then she took another leap, landing right in front of me, her legs poised on the ground in the splits. It seemed like she hadn't noticed much from what was going on around her until then.

She looked up and straight into my eyes.

There was a faint glow in her eyes, but it started to dim as she looked at me. Her happy and carefree expression was soon replaced by one of utter mortification.

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><p><strong><em><span>AN:_ In case you wanna thank someone for this insight into Edward's brain- don't thank me, thank my beta. I was her idea. I generally tend to avoid EPovs- the guy just gives me a headache everytime again.**

**Still, I tried. My beta approved and so did the fish :) So I hope you liked it as well and... yeah... was there anything else I wanted to say?**

**Oh! Those of you who read _Forks Academy for Special Gifted Students_- I'm currently working on the update. As you can see I'm being a busy bee and hopefully I'll finish the next chapter soon.**

**Phew! So many stories, so little time... well, not true :P **

**Okay, I ran out of words and so I'm just gonna peace and let you bombard me with words. **

**Gimme some love, gimme some sugar and gimme lot's of reviews :D**


	6. Popcorn Show

_**A/N:**___** Sorryguys that it took a bit longer for me to update. I had been pretty busy in the past weeks and that combined with the fact that I have other stories to type for-despite the fact that inspiration just won't hit- just made the process of completing this chapter a bit longer.**

**Anyway, now it's there and done, which means this is the part where I'll have to thank the super-beta again justareaderfan- such a busy little bee :P**

**Now have fun reading... this chapter is again in Bella's Pov**

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><p>I spent the rest of my Sunday with Sam and Leah. Emily stayed at the coffee shop- it was her aunt's and she had promised to help out.<p>

Hanging out with Sam and Leah was almost like being back home in Phoenix.

Leah seemed to be fairly curious about my life in the sun.

Apparently, she had two cousins who lived in Phoenix as well but she never got to visit them.

When it was time for me to return the academy Sam offered to drive me back.

Leah blasted the stereo on full volume and sang along with each song, which made every kind of conversation kind of impossible.

"Be good, Bella. Don't let those kids get to you, alright?" Leah warned when she and Sam drove off.

Then she stuck out her head out once more. "Call me, we need to hang out again," she shouted.

I rolled my eyes at her and just turned to head into the school.

"Where have you been all day?" Victoria asked me.

"Out," I replied dryly.

"Okay." She dragged out the word and gave Irina a pointed look.

Irina didn't seem to care where I had been and simply continued reading her book.

I didn't pay any further attention to either of them and kept to myself for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, I actually woke up on my own. Victoria was just waking up herself and Irina had apparently returned from the bathroom.

Dragging myself out of bed, I cursed under my breath not really happy that I was starting to get used to this nonsense.

I got ready fast and was already heading toward the cafeteria before Victoria had even gotten dressed.

It was truly frightening how fast I had grown accustomed to my new schedule. Back at home I wouldn't be caught dead outside of bed at this hour.

Like so often in the past days, I was hit with a wave of homesickness. The week-end was just over and I was pretty sure that Felix and Zafrina would be calling in sick today at school, since they would be too hung over to even attempt to get out of bed.

Those two always competed when it came to getting wasted. The first one to puke had to pay for the drinks next time.

I told them about a hundred times that one of them would end up in the hospital sooner or later but of course they wouldn't listen.

End of the story was the usual whining about headaches and vomiting their guts out. I sometimes visited Rina on a Monday- it had not been pretty.

Finishing my breakfast, I got up and made my way to my first class of the day, still recalling various disgusting moments I had lived through together with Rina and even Felix once. Fate had really been cruel to me that one particular day, because I had dealt with both of them at once. Most of the others had been smart enough to stay away from those two on Mondays, but that one time both their parents decided to throw them out at the same time and they both ended up knocking on my door.

They were moody, whiny and that combined with all the puking was just not cool at all.

I had told my father that I had been sick, to explain the smell of vomit that just wafted through the entire house. It had been disgusting.

The studio slowly started to fill and I pulled out my iPod to drown out their senseless chatter. No need to listen to any more Ballet talk.

I started my stretches once the class started, frustrated with the fact that I could not just do my own thing.

I thought that music would help me with my boredom during performing those crucial stretches but all it did was frustrate me.

About 95% of the songs on my iPod were put on it for just one reason- to dance. Or at least appreciate the rhythm of the song.

Bending over and touching my toes definitely didn't do that.

It was truly troublesome that Ballet required such boring stretches. I had never liked them not even back when I was still dancing. I always tried to talk my mother into letting me dance without warming up but of course, she wouldn't let me. It would have been quite irresponsible of her to do so.

Even with Demetri and the others we did some warming up and those idiots were definitely not the sort who cared about proper preparation and precaution.

Come to think of it, the routine we had going for warming up had been forced upon them by me.

It was originally a series of moves that Demetri wanted me to learn in order to get rid of the 'rigid state' I was in.

He always made me dance in front of the others until I got annoyed with their comments and jokes and dared them all to do it better.

Felix, being his competitive self immediately jumped up and took over, adding some goofy moves into it. I had tried to keep with him which had been fairly difficult at first.

The others had only watched and laughed.

The next day, Rina decided to join in on the fun and danced with us changing the routine up a little because she thought it was 'too masculine'.

I smiled at the memory of Felix trying to move his hips along with Rina. Seth had tried to teach him how to do it but Felix was a lost cause in that area. There was just no sexiness in his hips.

I don't exactly remember how it had happened but at some point we had all been dancing. I think it had been the change of the song.

I almost laughed out loud when the song blaring from my ear buds changed. I had heard it so many times now but still, each time I heard it I just had to dance our stupid routine. I had made the whole crew dance to this song at the start of each rehearsal and at some point we all just randomly started dancing whenever we heard the song.

Once we had been at the beach when some guy was blaring it from his car stereo.

Immediately, we had all been on our feet goofing off to the familiar tune.

I sighed. I definitely missed my friends and their antics. The song was just not helping matters in this case.

_I feel your fever  
>From miles around<br>I'll pick you up in my car  
>And we'll paint the town<br>Just kiss me baby  
>And tell me twice<br>That you're the one for me_

I grinned to myself. It probably wouldn't do any harm if I just grooved a little to the music without really disturbing anyone.

_The way you make me feel  
>(The way you make me feel)<br>You really turn me on  
>(You really turn me on)<br>You knock me off of my feet  
>(You knock me off of my feet)<br>My lonely days are gone  
>(My lonely days are gone)<em>

The steps came easily to me, making me feel as carefree as always. There was absolutely nothing serious about this dance though. Just some basic steps with lots of goofiness.

Thanks to the shuffle function the song changed before I fully got to enjoy it. I would have put it back on when the other one didn't remind me so much of Felix and my routine ages ago. We never finished it unfortunately. Mainly because his ex-girlfriend had been jealous of me.

Without thinking much of it I sprang back unto my hands. When Felix had taught me this his ex Gianna had been furious because she had been certain that she had seen Felix grope my ass.

Truth was that he had merely been supporting me and when it came to dancing, personal space was non-existent.

I pushed myself of the ground with my hands landing gracefully on the floor with my legs in splits.

I looked up and was met with the sight of startling green eyes.

That was when reality came rushing back to me. I was in a Ballet Academy in the middle of Pas de Deux classes and I had just taken over the entire room in my dancing haze.

Could it get any more embarrassing?

Wait, I shouldn't even care about the things they thought. It wasn't like any of them could do it better.

I pulled out my ear buds and smiled apologetically at Madam Cope.

"Very interesting," she noted and gave me a curt nod.

"Err... thanks?"

"That was totally awesome you have to teach me how you do that," I heard Alice chirp behind me.

I turned around to look at the little pixie with raised eyebrows.

She stood there clapping her little hands furiously together.

Rose and Emmett joined in on her little applause.

"Well, class you are all dismissed. I will see you ladies this afternoon." Madam Cope announced when the sound of the bell was to be heard.

I was immensely grateful and dashed over to my stuff and attempted to get out of here as fast as humanly possible.

"Hey Bella, wait up!"

I sighed and turned around only to see Rose and Alice approaching me.

"What?"

"Do you always go in trance whilst dancing?" Rose asked casually, falling in step with me.

I just ignored her.

"I mean it's cool and all but also kind of freaky."

"Will you teach me?" Alice asked randomly.

"No."

"What?"

Looking at Alice I saw that her bottom lip started to quiver. What the hell?

"Stop looking at me like that."

"B-but..."

"Al, stop crying. You're not a baby anymore, remember?" Rose said dryly.

"Bella, I thought we were friends," Alice whined.

I looked at her surprise. "Since when are we friends?"

Alice looked at me with wide eyes. "We're not friends? Why are you saying that?"

I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Except for the fact that you have been totally snobby so far, didn't talk to me the whole last week and went around telling everyone that I'm a criminal?" I asked her sarcastically.

"We didn't say anything to anyone," Rose informed me.

"Am I supposed to believe that?"

"You don't have to. It's still the truth." With these words she disappeared in one of the dance studios without another glance in my direction.

"We really didn't tell anyone. I tried to figure out who did, it wasn't one of us. I would have killed the boys if they had been talking. And as for the not talking to you thing- you didn't talk to us either."

Seriously, why was everyone saying something and then just left? Well, Alice didn't leave but she went to join the other girls at the bars.

With a sigh I went over to my usual spot getting ready for the usual stretches. As if it did any good.

Classes flew by and apparently the whole school had no other topic to talk about except my dancing trance during Pas de Deux.

Apparently that only confirmed that I didn't belong here and should be going to some public school instead. Their words, not mine.

I sat down at my usual table at lunch ignoring everyone and everything like I usually did, when Alice plopped down on a chair beside me.

"What's up?" she asked in that cheery voice of hers. I wondered if she ever stopped grinning like a kid on a sugar rush.

Rosalie appeared on my other side, saying nothing at all.

"What do you guys want?" I sighed, not really in the mood to put up with the two of them.

"Eating lunch, of course," Rosalie grumbled.

"Right."

"We just thought it would be nice to join you," Alice chirped.

I didn't reply and just continued eating.

"You know, I really do want you to be my friend. I'm sorry if my reaction to your admission has offended you in any way I was just a bit shocked, you know. The most serious issues that I have ever dealt with were deciding what to wear at the show cases, so it was kind of weird to be meeting someone who has to deal with real problems."

I looked at her only to see a sincere expression on her face matching the tone of her voice.

"It must be hard to be trying to cope with something and not really succeeding."

Her words left me to gape at her. Why would she say that? What exactly did she know about me?

"I hope that one day you will tell me what it is that makes you so sad," she added and then smiled warmly at me before turning her attention to her food.

She confused me. How come that her words so dead on spot without her actually knowing what was going on?

Maybe she was a psychic. I shook my head at this ridiculous thought.

Her words kind of left me feeling weird, which made it difficult for me to continue eating.

Rosalie and Alice continued to stay at my side after lunch. We sat together in Musical History like we always did and they walked with me to all of my other classes. Mostly because they had to go in the same direction but when Rosalie was also waiting for me after my last class, I was convinced that the two of them weren't going to leave me alone any time soon.

"Let's go," Rosalie said, making a gesture for me to follow her.

She led me to the backyard and I noticed that most students were walking in the same direction as well.

"Uhh... Rosalie, where are we going?" I asked, confused why everyone was apparently heading for the same destination. Especially since classes were over now.

"First of all, it's Rose and second- didn't you read your schedule? We have gymnastics on Mondays."

Huh. Seemed like I hadn't read the schedule properly.

Alice joined us and we made our way to the Gym. I didn't have any sports clothes with me so I didn't change, which didn't matter really seeing that we were all kind of walking around in dancing gear all day.

Madam Esme was already waiting for us girls in the Gym. I had already been wondering when I would meet her in class.

"Ladies, I'm not really happy with your stamina these days. I heard a lot of the teachers complaining and I think it's time that we work on that again," Madam Esme started right away when all the girls were gathered in the Gym.

"Find yourself a spot with enough space around you and then be on your hands. We're working on that muscle tension that you all love so much."

The groans that followed showed the exact opposite.

I'd never had a problem with hand stands, but I wondered how this was going to work for ballet dancers- especially girls. As far as I knew most of the strength was required to be in the legs and not the arms.

About an hour later I had my answer. My arms had never felt more like jelly than they did now and every other muscle on my body was hurting like hell.

Madam Esme had us standing on our hands the whole time and gave different instructions. Stretching the legs and pointing feet. Splitting legs and still pointing the feet. Bending legs but never stop pointing feet and whatever else we had been doing whilst pointing our feet.

Madam Esme definitely made sure that we used every muscle our bodies had to offer and I was glad that I spent my entire time during classes with stretches otherwise I would be dead right now.

"I'm so dead," Alice whined as we slowly made our way out of the Gym.

It even hurt to walk.

"Tell me about it," Rose groaned.

I didn't say anything.

"Normally, I would ask if you guys want to go to the pool and let us enjoy the last bit of the day before dinner, but I don't think that I will be able to hold myself up. I'd probably drown."

"There is a pool in this school?" I asked wondering where it had been hidden this whole time.

"Yeah, the pool house is behind the Gym. We even have a spa there with hot tubs and yummy guys that love to rub ballerina's feet," Rose informed.

"Gross."

Rose only shrugged and then winced.

"Hiya, girlies," a voice boomed behind us.

We all turned to see Emmett, Jasper and Edward approaching us.

Emmett grinned widely as he joined us, entirely too happy for my liking.

"What's on the agenda for the rest of the day?"

"Dying," Alice and Rose groaned in unison. It sounded tempting.

"What did Madam Esme do to you?" Jasper asked with a chuckle.

"You don't even want to know. My arms will never be the same after this. I'll probably be able to lift Emmett tomorrow," Rose said to him.

"Oh, that should be fun," Emmett laughed.

"You don't look nearly as bad as the other two," Jasper noted, giving me a once over.

"I'm suffering on the inside," I replied with a shrug, which definitely hurt but I didn't wince.

"Yeah right, you have been stretching all week so your muscles have actually been put to use," Rose scoffed.

"Not to forget the dancing," Alice added.

"Which was pretty damn awesome," Emmett boomed.

"Thanks."

"So, we don't have any plans for the next two hours? We've been boring ourselves to death for weeks now," Jasper said.

My phone rang in that exact moment, interrupting the conversation that I was apparently taking part in.

"Yo."

"Bella, where are you?" Leah's voice shouted from the other end.

"At the academy, where else?"

"And why are you not in the parking lot, waiting for me and Sam to pick you up?"

"I just came out of Gym."

"Ew, don't even tell me what you guys did. You sound like you've been chewed and spit back out."

"Yeah, I kinda feel like it too."

"Well, you're still hanging out with us."

"What do you even plan to do?"

"Forks High is having a talent show and even some of the academy students are taking part. You should definitely come."

"A talent show?"

"Oh my gosh, the talent show is today, isn't it? I totally forgot about that," Alice gushed. Obviously, they were all listening to what I was discussing on the phone.

"Yeah, it's going to suck ass but I wanna go anyway and you're going with me. Emily is a good sport so she won't help me throw popcorn at those lame kids, which is why I need you to tag along. You are going to help me whether you like it or not."

"Throwing popcorn, huh?"

"Yup, that's the plan."

"Count me in. I've got nothing better to do anyway. Just let me get changed. I'm totally gross right now."

"We'll be waiting."

I ended the call and looked up only to find five pairs of eyes watching me.

"Who was that?" Alice asked, not masking her curiosity.

"A friend of mine."

"How did you manage to make a friend that fast?" Rose demanded.

"Thanks for putting trust in my social skills."

"Oh, come on. Don't act as if you care. You and I both know that you're pretty good at being anti-social so you must have found yourself some kind of weirdo."

"I wouldn't say weirdo," Emmett interjected, "I heard something about Popcorn throwing and that shit is just fucking hilarious. I always wanted to do that but all of these suckers won't allow me to do that."

I giggled. "Leah never had a partner for it either, so she's forcing me."

"Leah?" It was the first time I heard Edward speak up.

"You don't mean Leah Clearwater, right?" Jasper asked.

"Uh... I don't know?"

"Does she have black hair, tanned skin, is totally pretty, strange as fuck and a bad ass ballerina who doesn't even give a shit about it?" Rose listed.

"Umm, her hair is purple, she actually does have tanned skin, is quite pretty, the only normal person I met so far and I've never seen her dance. She said she's a student here though. A senior to be exact."

"Sounds like Clearwater to me," Alice noted. "Figures that you would like her."

"You guys don't?"

"Meh, I never really had much to do with her. We only get to hear the crazy stories, although they are quite hilarious."

"What crazy stories?"

"One time, Madam Cope asked her to demonstrate something for the class. She did and about halfway through she stopped. When Madam Cope asked her what was wrong she said she wasn't 'feeling it' and needed to go out for a smoke."

I grinned at that.

"Also there was this one time before the summer show case when she was bitching around all day because of something- I think she got in fight with Lauren- and just before her class was about to have their performance she spilled soda all over Lauren's leotard. It was hilarious," Emmett snickered.

"She also once threw a stone through Mr. Jenkins' car window. Nobody knows why, but Mr. Jenkins left the school and all Leah got for punishment was detention."

"What exactly was the point again in telling me all this?"

"You asked."

"Right. Anyway, I'm gonna go and change now and then I'll be off. See ya...or not."

I took off without another glance in their direction and sprinted to my room, despite my protesting muscles.

I dashed into my room, made a quick stop at the bathroom and ten minutes later I was getting into Sam's beat up red truck.

"Took you long enough," Leah huffed, looking at me with an accusing expression.

"Hello Bella," Sam greeted pleasantly.

"Hey guys. You know it only took so long because the fairies were giving me a Best of Leah."

"Oh really? What did they say... or more importantly who was telling you the stories."

"Uhh...my self-proclaimed new friends. Alice, Rosalie and the rest of them."

"Aww, you're hanging out with the good guys. How cute," Leah cooed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That you're hanging out with the good guys. I don't think I ever heard anything bad about any of them. Well, maybe Rosie before she was converted which is why I reconsidered my intentions of befriending her."

Leah shrugged casually and lit herself a cigarette. "Want one? They taste like chocolate."

"Not right now," I shook my head. "Don't you want to hear what they told me?"

"I bet it was all good, but spill anyway."

"It was really not as bad as I would have thought. I mean, walking out of Madam Cope's class is not all that mention worthy to me."

"It is to everyone else. Mainly, because I told Madam Cope to go and fuck herself. She was being a bitch to me and kept criticizing me to the point that I just wanted punch her."

"Lovely."

"I kind of feel left out of the conversation," Sam threw in.

"Then contribute something useful," Leah snapped.

"Did they tell you about the Lauren incident?"

"The soda spill? Yeah."

"Aw man, they make everything sound so harmless. Where were they when that shit happened?" Leah complained.

I looked at her in question.

Sam looked at me through the rear view mirror and explained.

"It was a bit more than just a soda spill. The two of them had been in each other's hair for weeks, because of some stupid situation that hadn't even been worth mentioning-"

"Not worth mentioning? She was practically throwing herself at you and was already halfway undressed. That is not something that happens accidentally," Leah cut him off.

"She wasn't throwing herself at me. She was just being... a bit..."

"Cheap? Slutty? Whorish?"

"Oh, come on, Lee-lee. Shouldn't you be over it by now?"

"I am over it, but that shit still pisses me off. I don't like people touching my property and don't call me Lee-lee again, or I'll chop something very precious off."

"Uh... someone mind explaining?" I piped up, having the feeling that I was missing something here.

"Oh yeah, the story. Well, like Sam said we had been having cat fights for quite a while 'cause she just had nothing better to do than hitting on my boyfriend and then she also got the solo that I was supposed to dance, only because-"

"Wait, wait, wait," I barged in. "You and Sam were together?"

"Um, yeah," both of them answered with a shrug.

"Wow, you really must have ended things on a friendly base then."

"Not really. I was beyond pissed when Sam admitted that he had a thing for my cousin. I mean, seriously? My cousin? I totally bitched him out for that, broke things off with him and didn't talk with either one of them for weeks."

"I'm confused," I admitted.

Sam sighed. "Leah's pretty short-tempered. So she got totally worked up over it, threw tantrums like nobody's business and tried out the Medusa glare on everyone that passed her. It was kinda intense. Emily was worried that she would never talk to her again, since the two of them were pretty close. Closer than the rest of the whole cousin lot.

"I didn't even know if she would snap out of it. But eventually she must have cooled of, because she slowly started talking to Emily again. She still ignored me until at some point she spent more time in school and then when she hung out at home during the vacations, she had been over it. She met Paul and the two of them got along just fine and that was the end of the drama."

"Wow."

"Yeah, yeah. So as I was saying: Lauren had gotten the solo-"

"We're here," Sam announced bringing the car to a halt and interrupting Leah again.

She gave him a death glare, but he shrugged it off and just got out of the car.

Somehow I had a hard time imagining those two together. It must have been quite amusing to watch.

I got out of the car as well and was immediately assaulted by something tiny.

I looked down on myself only to find Alice, engulfing me in a tight hug.

"Err…"

"The Talent-show is going to be so much fun. Last year if had been pretty entertaining too, so this is going to be awesome. Maybe next year we'll do something as well," she gushed.

"Alice, where did you just come from?"

"Oh, I just got out Emmett's car. He, Rose, Jasper and I decided to go and watch the show as well. Edward didn't want to come, but that's his loss. I'm just glad I'm getting to spend this time with you."

Behind me I heard Leah coughing to disguise her laugh.

"Didn't know you were so popular with the ladies, Bella," she commented, earning a chuckle from Sam.

Alice looked up at the sound of Leah's voice and took a step back, finally letting go of me.

"Oh my gosh, you're hair really is purple," she blurted out and pointed her finger at Leah.

"It is?" Leah asked in wonder and turned back toward the car to look at her reflection. "Oh, look at that- my hair is purple. That's a shocker and what's that in my face? OMG, I think I have a nose."

The sarcasm in her voice was hard to miss and even if Alice seemed to have a talent for overlooking such things, she now frowned at Leah's statement.

Rose chose that moment to walk up on us and yanked on Alice's short hair.

"Ow, what the hell, Rose? What was that for?"

"Leave me alone in a car with Emmett again and I'll rip your hair out next time," Rose hissed at her.

Leah was playing audience and giggled to herself, while Sam excused himself for a moment.

"I didn't leave you alone. Jasper was there as well."

"No, he wasn't. He left to go and get your stupid popcorn because you didn't want to stand in line."

"He really did that?"

Alice's eyes glazed over.

"Hey, not the time to be having Disney moments," Rose waved her hand in front of Alice's face.

Leah leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Maybe I do like Rosalinda after all," she whispered.

"It's Rosalie," I corrected.

"Whatever. I'm gonna call her Rosie."

Rose's eyes snapped up at us.

"Call me that and you'll be waking up to a beeping sound, breathing through pipes," Rose threatened and then walked toward the school building.

She turned around after a few steps.

"You guys coming or what?"

"Don't mind her. She gets pretty aggressive after dealing with Emmett," Alice explained.

"I'm not complaining," Leah grinned at her.

"You like crazy people, don't you?" I asked her.

"Not crazy people, people who are not stable. It gets me off."

Alice's eyes widened and I saw a slight blush on her cheeks.

Leah saw it too and poked her cheek playfully.

"Aw, you're adorable. So innocent and blue-eyed," she turned to me, "Mommy, can I keep her? I promise I'll feed her."

I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Fine, I won't take her home."

Leah pouted and strutted forward, probably to go and annoy Rose.

"She's crazy," Alice muttered and shook her head.

"She's just a bit queer."

"No, she's crazy. But that's okay. It makes her more bearable than other people. Crazy people are less judgmental- at least in my opinion."

I looked down at the tiny girl, who just kept throwing around wise words.

She looked back up at me.

"You're not really going to throw popcorn, are you?"

"Probably not. It's not really my style."

Alice smiled brightly.

I came to the conclusion that it was quite easy to make Alice smile and for some strange reason it pleased me to be able to do that.

Whatever happened in the course of one day, it definitely made me soften up.

We made our way into the school and just followed the crowd.

Apparently, the talent-show was going to be held in the Gym.

Rose and Leah re-joined us and pulled us along to get seated in the first row where Emmett, Jasper and Sam were already seated.

The boys had gotten the popcorn and Leah somehow ended up sitting next to Emmett, since he was the only one who shared her enthusiasm for throwing the white stuff around.

I settled for eating it and as did Jasper and Sam, who sat on either side of me.

The show started and I leaned back ready to endure whatever was coming for me.

I quickly came to the conclusion that the kids in Forks were pretty talentless.

Some girl named Jessica honestly believed that her interpretation of the song 'Listen' was bearable, judging by the way she was smiling and grinning while she tortured us with her horrifying sounds.

By the time she was done 'singing' my ears were bleeding.

"She does that every year and nobody dares to tell her that she can't sing," Jasper told me.

"Why not? Does she have an older brother?"

"No, but everyone fears that she would just start singing again. She could totally make a self-defence technique out of that screeching."

I chuckled in agreement.

Next up was some skinny white dude, who thought that putting on some major baggy pants and a golden chain, made him a bad ass rapper. He beat boxed his death sentence right then and there because I was pretty sure that a lot of people wanted to kill him after that performance.

"You suck," Leah called and threw her popcorn on the stage.

Emmett threw his as well, laughing hysterically.

It was just plain weird.

When the kid just kept on going as if the phrase 'the show must go on' had been meant for him, other people joined in on the popcorn throwing, telling him to get the hell off the stage.

It was pretty mean but I didn't have time to feel bad because the next act was up.

A boy and a girl dressed casually stood there talking to each other for a moment.

"I didn't know that Paul was participating," Sam mused quietly.

I looked at the boy again.

He had the same russet skin as Sam and his black hair was also quite short. He was a bit burly but not much- just enough to go along with his height.

"That's Leah's boyfriend?" I asked trying to picture them together. Somehow, I couldn't quite come up with a picture. It had nothing to do with him not really looking suitable-because he didn't, but more with the fact that I was not picturing Leah cuddling with anyone really.

"Yeah, the two of them are actually quite good."

Just then music came on and for a moment I was wondering why in the world martial arts would be something that people performed at a Talent-show. Then the music changed and I wanted to laugh out loud when I recognized the song.

It was one of the songs that I had been dancing to earlier today.

I watched them dance and quickly came to the conclusion that those two were pretty damn good.

The girl could probably teach me lots of stuff especially since she seemed to be more flexible than normal. I wasn't even sure if I could twist like that. She definitely had the crowd cheering in no time, making Paul look a tiny bit more like a prop than anything else. He was still good though and I especially liked the Western theme they had going on.

As soon as these two were done and left the stage I was certain that no one would be able to top those two.

"What is it with all these hip-hop dancers these days?" I heard Rosalie ask, but it didn't really sound like she was expecting an answer.

Of course, I was right with my assumption. Not one of the following performances managed to top Paul and whatever the girl's name was.

Well there was this one girl, who had some pretty impressive speed stacking skills but other than that it was just awful.

Emmett and Leah ran out of popcorn pretty soon and I was beyond thankful when the last act was announced.

A guy rolled out a giant harp, lulling everyone to sleep with the soft tune despite the fact that it was actually good.

In then end Paul and his partner won, the speed stacking chick got the second place and some magician dude was third.

"Come on, Bella. You totally have to meet Paul," Leah instructed just when we were walking out, pulling me along through the mass.

Somehow the whole group ended up hurrying after her.

Much to everyone's surprise Leah was not leading the way to the parking lot but went around the school with us, discovering Paul, his dancing partner and a few other kids behind the school sitting on a wall, smoking.

"Yo Leah," the group greeted, while Alice was saying something about lung cancer.

"Hey, guys. You all should seriously quit smoking- it's unhealthy."

"If anyone should stop it would be you. You're the 'athlete' among us," one of the guys said, making air quotes at the word 'athlete'.

"Fuck you, bitch. I am an athlete. Don't make me punch you."

"Stop with the empty threats already," the girl said, yawning and stretching before she jumped off the wall. "Just tell us who these little cuties are."

Her gaze was definitely fixated on Jasper and I could have sworn that I saw Alice stiffen.

Huh, so the pixie had a crush on Jasper. Interesting.

"Well...for the most part they are dancing machines like myself. But they aren't all that important-"

"Hey," Emmett protested, crossing his arms.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Emmett is a kickass popcorn throw partner and Rosalinda is totally bitchy."

"It's Rosalie," I threw in, although not even Rose seemed to care. She had heaved herself up in the wall and looked bored.

"This is Bella," Leah continued, ignoring my comment. "She's new in Forks and guess what?"

"What?" the girl asked, looking me up and down with a calculating expression.

"She loves the academy just like I do and she dances Hip-hop," Leah squealed.

I don't know what she was expecting. It wasn't like people were jumping up and cheering when they heard that they shared an interest.

"How come I've never seen you before?" the girl asked me, throwing her long black hair over her shoulder. She looked like she was from Latin origin, but I couldn't be too sure. I didn't exactly care either.

"Just moved here?"

"Moved here?" one of the guys repeated. "How come we haven't seen you in school yet?"

"Jared, you're such a moron. Obviously, she's at the academy. Not everyone goes to this dump that you people call a school," Leah snapped.

She was now sitting together with Paul, leaning against him with his arms around her whilst sharing a cigarette. Seemed like she was into cuddling after all.

"Academy, huh? Too bad...our little group could definitely use another girl for the lunch breaks. It's horrible to be alone with these boys sometimes. I'm Chris."

She held out her hand for me to shake.

I shook it and smiled at her.

Slowly but surely I was starting to get used to the people here. Not just Leah and Sam, but I had a feeling that the friendship with Alice and Rose might work after all. The two of them were staring at the phone display of the other guy that was hanging around with Paul and Chris.

Alice looked up and grinned at me.

She really was adorable and even if I got along with Leah the best, I somehow liked Alice the most.

I guess I really was starting to soften up.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**___** Yay! Everything is awesome... or something like that. I totally improvised towards the end of the chapter although the lack of Edward-ness was intentional. First we're building up friendships, then we go and deal with the beast.**

**Okay, so there are two songs in this chapter. First one is- The Way you make Me Feel by Michael Jackson. For some reason I keep listening to this song... it's been like this for weeks now. And in case you where wondering what had inspired Bella's little dancing haze go and watch this vid:**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=bljgJrCSW2w**

**The dance just kinda put me in a good mood and someone asked me to come up with some videos, so I did. Although Bella's dance was different seeing that I had been improvising at some point while listening to the song.**

**Also there would be Paul's and Chris' performance:**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=T9lGGp5eq4w**

**I love SYTYCD and I have been browsing through those vids for weeks... this particular performance just got stuck in my head, mainly because of the song- it's kinda catchy when it's combined with dancing.**

**Alright, now have I said everything that I wanted to? I think so... there is not much left for me to say. I'm just gonna sit here and wait for your reviews and I'll answer to as many as I can ( althoug sometimes I don't really know how to reply or if I even should...)**

**Lots of love to all of you and thank you for reading :)**


	7. Oh Mother

**_A/N:_ Yay, I finished another chapter and made my beta proud :) As always, thank you for taking the time to beta my chapters.**

**Nooow... I actually don't have much to ramble about so you can just go on and read**

* * *

><p>We hung out with Leah, Sam and the others for a while until Emmett noted that it was time for us to head back to the academy.<p>

Alice insisted that I drive back with them and so we left Leah and her friends behind.

So I ended up squeezed in between Alice and Rose on the backseat, answering some of the questions that they asked, ignoring others.

We made it back on time and the boys left us to head toward their wing.

Alice and Rose were roommates and their room was on the floor beneath mine.

When I entered my room, Victoria let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally," she cried.

Irina just rolled her eyes at her and pushed past me to get out of the room.

"Uh...did I miss something?"

"No, not really. Irina was just getting on my nerves and I had been anxiously for you to return and save me."

"Weren't you supposed to be friends?"

"We are friends," Victoria insisted, "I just don't like dealing with her antics all the time. She's just jealous, I think."

"Jealous of what?"

Victoria sighed.

"She's been a bit bitchy because I'm dating James. I think she's just regretting not taking her chances with Laurent. He's dating someone now."

I made a small noise, to give Victoria the impression that I was listening, despite the fact that I really didn't care about this kind of stuff.

Victoria continued to rant about James, Irina and Tanya, while I continued to act as if I was listening.

At some point in Victoria's speech, I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remembered was waking up to sounds of my alarm clock.

The day started just like every morning, slow and painful.

The only thing that was different this morning was that Alice was standing in front of the door when I stepped out of my room.

"Good morning," she greeted enthusiastically.

"Morning?" Her bouncing frame was a bit confusing for my semi-awake mind.

"I decided to pick you up for breakfast," Alice explained.

"You do realize that I do know where the cafeteria is, right?"

"Yes, I do."

I sighed but didn't say anything else.

I just made my way to the cafeteria with the hyperactive little person next to me.

"So are you going to dance today?" Alice asked.

"Umm...not that I know of. Why?"

"I was just wondering. Could have been that you finally decided to join us properly in class," Alice shrugged.

"That is not going to happen any time soon if I can help it."

"Ah well, we're going to change that soon," Alice replied confidently.

I raised my eyebrows at her, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Oh look, Rose is waving at us," she squealed, when we entered the cafeteria.

I looked over to where Alice pointed and saw that Rose had in fact only made a small hand motion to gain Alice's attention.

Leave it to Alice to get all excited over it.

I got myself a bowl of cereal and followed Alice, who was headed to join Rose at the table that I usually occupied.

"Morning," Rose greeted absentmindedly.

"Morning."

"Good morning, ladies," a voice boomed.

Rose cringed visibly and before I even knew it, Emmett sat at the table with us.

"How are you on this beautiful morning?"

"Wonderful before you showed up," Rose grumbled.

That caused me to raise my eyebrows at her. Weren't they supposed to be friends?

Emmett just shrugged it off.

"So Bella, you gonna dance for us today again?"

"Err...no."

"Why not?"

"Didn't you hear that she just said no?" Rose snapped at him.

"I didn't ask you, did I?" Emmett snapped right back.

"Could you please not argue this early?" Alice chimed in.

Both Rose and Emmett glared at each other briefly, before they ignored one another.

I wasn't sure what it was but I definitely must have missed something in this scenario.

"Where are Jasper and Edward?" Alice asked then as if nothing had happened.

"Edward didn't want to join you guys and Jasper just decided to stay with him," Emmett replied.

"What's his problem anyway?" I asked no one in particular.

"Nobody knows. He's probably just being a bit bitchy because no one pays attention to his petty problems," Rose shrugged.

"No, he's actually annoyed that his grades are slipping," Alice informed us.

"His grades are slipping? Since when? He just got an 'A' in French yesterday," Emmett wondered.

"I'm talking about dancing. Did you look at the ranking list? He's not even in the top three anymore."

"Yeah, but he's still in the top five, so he shouldn't be complaining. He's still higher up than me," Rose scowled.

"He says that it's your fault," Alice muttered.

Rose's head whipped around. "My fault? What the hell did I do?"

"The two of you can't really dance with each other, so you're both kind of bad in Pas de Deux."

"It's not my fault that he's too stupid to get anything right."

"He says that it is your fault and asked Aunt Esme yesterday if it were possible for him to get a new partner. She said that she'd talk to Madam Cope to see how the rest of the class is doing, but she doesn't really want to provide a new partner for him."

"He's such an asshole. Just because he can't get his fucking hands in the right position and doesn't even know how to be intact, he goes crying to his mommy that I'm the one at fault? I'd kick his ass so hard that he'd taste the fabric of my Pointe shoes but I love them too much to get them ruined."

Rose looked beyond pissed while she said that and for some reason I couldn't help but giggle at her words.

Emmett was also biting his lips to prevent himself from laughing, but he chuckled anyway.

Rose ignored the two of us.

Eventually, we all made our way to class. Rose immediately walked up to Edward to hiss and screech at him. Edward didn't seem to be in a good mood either, which resulted in the two of them arguing.

"It's not my fault that you obviously don't know anything about grace and beauty," Edward snapped at her.

"At least I'm still getting my steps right, you always trip over your own feet."

"Not over my feet, it's your feet that are in the way."

"Stop trying to blame me for this. It's your own fault if you keep fucking up."

"Enough, you two," Madam Cope's voice interrupted.

Everyone, who had been listening to the argument taking place, turned around at the sound of her voice.

"Both of you can join Isabella on the floor and do some stretching for today. I will inform the other teachers not to let you dance," she instructed.

I grimaced at the sound of my full name, while Rose looked like she needed a moment to figure out who 'Isabella' was.

Edward just looked downright pissed.

"The rest of the class, get in position- we are trying out something new today..."

Rose sauntered over to me, scowling at Edward who took up a space a safe distance from me.

The rest of the day passed without any major events. Rose kept ranting about Edward's arrogance, while Alice was apparently looking forward to an afternoon spent with her aunt.

Rose asked me if I'd help her break in her new pointe shoes, to which I agreed since I had nothing better to do with the afternoon anyway.

But whilst we were eating lunch a small girl approached our table informing me that Madam Esme wanted to talk to me after lunch.

I frowned at the news, trying to recall if I had done anything wrong. As far as I knew I had behaved almost too well in the past days that I had spent here.

Rose and Alice also had no explanation for this and spent the remainder of our lunch break with me trying to figure out what Madam Esme could want from me.

We finished our lunch and both girls decided to accompany me to the headmistress' office.

"Good luck in there," Rose said quietly as I opened the door to the office.

Madam Esme sat at her desk, looking much like she had on my first day here.

"Ah, Ms. Swan. Take a seat," she said in a pleasant voice, even smiling a little.

I complied, even more confused as to what was going on.

Madam Esme looked at me for a few moments before we spoke.

"I have been talking to some of your teachers," she then started slowly, "Apart from some little incidents in the beginning it seems like you have been behaving quite well so far."

I nodded, knowing that I really hadn't done anything to piss any of my teachers off.

"Still, they are not all pleased with you. Your aversion to dancing makes it difficult for the teachers give you any points. Right at this moment you are not only at the bottom of your class but of the whole school. You only got two points for last week and that was only because Madam Cope says that you are progressing a bit with your stretches."

It was kind of true. My flexibility was slowly returning. It hadn't actually been lost, but my body had to get used to it again. Not that I wanted it too.

"I got a letter from Judge Jensen today and she wants to be informed about your progress. I don't know if your father told you this but it's not enough for you just to be sitting around in here. The only way that you can convince the judge to let you go free and erase your record is for you to show her that you have chosen a new path. You have to show that your behaviour has improved and this is not being done just by sitting here."

I raised my eyebrows at that. What exactly did the judge expect from me? How in the world am I supposed to show that?

"I know that you might wonder how you are supposed to accomplish that, but the answer is quite simply- all you have to do is take part in the dancing classes."

"What? But I don't want to dance," I protested.

"I know that, but it's either that or going to jail. We both know that you are not a bad person so why would you be willing to put yourself down like this? These kinds of things can ruin your future; you know that, don't you?"

Madam Esme's green eyes seemed to glow with intensity.

I nodded slowly.

"Isabella, I really don't want to see you throwing everything away. I know that your mother's death has been hard on you, but you can't just throw your life away and waste such a great amount of talent. She wouldn't have wanted that."

I hated it when people started talking about my mother. It didn't happen often but usually when it happened, I told them to shut up. Nobody knew what my mother would have wanted or not, so there should be no reason for anyone to tell me stuff like this.

But somehow I couldn't tell Madam Esme to shut up. Something was different about the way she said it. It sounded like she really knew what she was talking about, almost as if she had known my mother. And the compassion that was clearly written on her face was also plain to hear in her voice.

She didn't pity me- she felt with me.

It was oddly comforting.

My voice was hoarse when I spoke, "I can't dance. I just-"

"Your father told me about your mother's death. I can't imagine how this must make you feel but there is no reason for you to be blaming yourself-"

"But it _is _my fault," I interrupted, "If I hadn't just ran away, she would still be alive. If I wouldn't have put Ballet above everything else, I would still be able to talk to her. She wouldn't be gone and I wouldn't be left behind."

By now the tears were running down my cheeks in streams.

The memory of my mother's dead body was hard to shake off and only caused me to cry harder.

I didn't notice that Madam Esme got up until I felt a soothing hand on my arm. She was crouching down beside me and handed me a tissue.

"Isabella-"

"Just Bella," I sniffed.

"Bella, I'm really sorry for your loss and I know that you don't like talking about it," Madam Esme murmured soothingly, stroking my hair.

I just sniffed and whimpered in response.

"Now Bella, I need you to start dancing again. Not just for the judge, but also for yourself. I know that you were once a very passionate dancer and that you loved Ballet just as much as everybody else at this academy does. Just try to have fun with it again; you don't even have to give up any other dancing activities."

I looked up in surprise, only to see Madam Esme smiling at me.

"Madam Cope told me about your performance in class yesterday. She says that you have remarkable feet, even when you're not dancing Ballet it shows," she told me, smiling brightly.

I couldn't help but smile back.

"So you will take part properly in classes now, yes?"

My smile wavered as I hesitated to reply.

I didn't want to return to the world of Ballet, but at the same time I felt the tiniest bit of excitement when I thought about doing what I once loved the most.

Before I even knew it, I nodded in answer to Madam Esme's question.

Again, I was rewarded with a bright smile.

"Do you have any dancing gear?"

I shook my head. I had thrown everything out, quite some time ago only keeping my mother's pointe shoes.

For some reason, I didn't even know I had brought them with me, but I didn't want to wear them.

They had been my mother's 'lucky' pointes. She had always worn them for her competitions and I didn't want to wear them during classes.

Madam Esme got up and walked toward the door. I heard her talk quietly before she turned toward me again.

"Well then, Bella. Rose is going to help you with the shopping that you need to do, so I guess you need to get going."

I got up and walked out of the office with Madam Esme right behind me.

"I wanna go shopping too," Alice wailed.

Both Rose and Alice had been waiting in front of the office.

I heard Madam Esme chuckle.

"You can go if you want; maybe you want to stop by tonight so we can have some girl time as well."

Alice bobbed her head enthusiastically, while Rose rolled her eyes at the little pixie.

"Alright then, girls. Have fun."

"Thank you," the three of us chorused, before Alice hooked her arm through mine and dragged me along.

"We need to get changed really quickly and then we should be on our way right away," Alice blabbered happily.

"We need to get you some leotards and you'll need some more tights. Also we should buy some hair ties, just so that you can look even prettier. Do you have pointe shoes?"

I shook my head slowly.

"Oh yay, then we need to get some for you. That's awesome; I wanted new ones as well. I guess we'll have to go to Eclipse for all of that."

I threw a questioning look in Rose's direction.

"Eclipse is a store in Seattle only for Ballet Equipment. They have everything in every size and it looks pretty."

Seeing the way Alice was bouncing up and down, I had a feeling that this shopping trip was not going to be fun. Not that I liked shopping anyway, but with a hyperactive pixie it could only get worse.

Just then my phone rang. I had a feeling that it would be Leah.

"My leg is finally free," Leah yelled right away.

She was so loud the even Alice leaned away from the phone.

"Hello to you too," I replied dryly.

"Aren't you happy?"

"About what?"

"My leg no longer being in that dreadful cast. I can return to the academy next week."

"Oh, really? That's great."

"More or less. I'll probably still have to sit out for some time."

"Lucky you," I sighed, "My bench time is over and I have to start dancing now."

"For real?" Leah asked in surprise.

"Yes."

"So are you going to be spending your whole afternoon training?"

"Err...no. Alice and Rose are taking me to Seattle to go shopping. Some place called Eclipse or somet-"

"You're going to Eclipse? I want to go too."

Again, Leah screamed loud enough for the other two to hear.

"She can come with us, if she wants to," Rose said with a shrug.

"You could join us," I told Leah.

"That would be awesome. Can you guys pick me up?"

We quickly arranged plans to pick Leah up from her place and then we all went to our rooms to get changed into normal clothing.

Merely twenty minutes later all four of us were sitting in the car, on our way to Seattle.

"Okay, we need a check list," Leah announced.

"Already thought of that," Alice said, waving a notepad around.

We all sat in Rosalie's red convertible BMW and Alice had immediately taken up the passenger's seat.

"Seriously, what do we need a checklist for? I only need pointe shoes, leotards and some tights," I asked.

"You also need dancing flats- we're not always wearing pointes," Leah pointed out.

I rolled my eyes at her.

The rest of the drive, we listened to Alice listing colours that she thought would look good on me, until Rose turned on the stereo loud enough to drown out Alice's chatter.

When we entered Eclipse, I realized right away that it was not going to be a cheap shopping trip. The store was huge and it looked like they really did have everything in every size.

It was like being in some kind of High-end boutique for Ballerinas.

"Welcome to Paradise," Alice said dramatically.

"Let's spend some money," Rose sighed and sauntered off, already having her attention captured by something else.

Leah had also vanished, which left me alone with Alice, who turned around slowly and grinned widely at me.

I thought about running, but then decided against it.

Surely, it couldn't be that bad.

"Alice, if you give me one more leotard to try on, I will fucking strangle you with it," I hissed after Alice threw yet another leotard into the changing room.

I had been stuck in there for thirty minutes already, showcasing one leotard after another.

Alice decided which ones I should take, blabbering some nonsense about 'complimenting my curves and my skin tone'.

"Why only leos? Maybe Bella wants to wear unitards," I heard Leah ask. I didn't even know that she had re-joined us.

"Oh God, I didn't think of that," Alice admitted.

"Good that you have me then," Leah said and then her head appeared from behind the curtain.

"Here, try these on as well."

I groaned when Leah handed me a stack of unitards, but decided to just get it done.

Some of those things were actually to my liking and as much as I wanted to deny it- somehow I had missed the feel of the fitted fabric around me.

Looking in the mirror, I decided that I liked this one the most.

It was a blue leotard with ¾ sleeves. It had a mock neck with a small zip in the front and an open back.

Stepping out, I noticed that all three girls were sitting on the small couch now.

I smiled at them and twirled around in a pirouette. Even if all the trying on was getting on my nerves, I was starting to look forward to be wearing these again.

"That was a bit sloppy," Leah remarked.

I ignored her.

"Damn Bella, you have a totally perfect body. Well, you need to flatten that stomach a little, but that'll probably happen on its own now that you have to eat healthy food on a regular basis," Rose said.

"What are you talking about? Her stomach already is flat," Alice protested.

"Yeah, yeah," Rose waved her off and then turned to me. "It looks good, you should buy it."

"I think, I will."

"Good, now can we move on from the leos?" Leah asked, already getting up.

"Yes, I think we can cross that off the list," Alice replied.

Next I was forced to put on a few dance dresses before Alice finally decided to let me go around on my own for a little while. She only did that though, because she had a pile of dresses that she wanted to try on herself.

I wandered through the aisles, picking up a few items that the others didn't think about.

I guessed that they wouldn't think too much about legwarmers or Sweatshirts, seeing that they were all used to this horrendous weather.

"Those shorts are cute, but you could have gotten a more interesting colour," Leah noted, suddenly appearing beside me.

"What's wrong with black?"

"Nothing. Green is just way cooler."

"I don't like green."

Leah shrugged and picked up a pair of green shorts.

"Oh, look at that! Zebra legwarmers," she then called, pointing at the object of her desire before she took off again.

I just shook my head at her and continued my journey through the aisles.

At some point Alice found me and pulled me along to 'finally get those pointes'.

I didn't object and just went along.

"Meet Marcus, he'll help us find the right shoes for you," Alice announced as we approached a young man who was sorting shoes into the shelves.

He turned around at the sound of Alice's voice and a wide smile immediately lit up his face when he saw the little pixie.

"Alice," he greeted happily and walked up to us. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"I know, I know. It's been too long," Alice replied with a grin.

I briefly wondered just how often Alice came here to shop.

Marcus' eyes came to rest on me.

"This is Bella. She's new at the academy and she needs pointe shoes," Alice continued.

"Nice to meet you, Bella," Marcus said, shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Okay, so what do you need the pointes for?"

"Umm...just for classes."

"Alright then, let's get started."

Marcus clapped his hands together and suddenly looked just as enthusiastic as Alice.

That wasn't exactly a good sign.

After telling them my size, both of them picked out one pair after another, piling the boxes in front of me.

When they finally decided it was enough, Marcus crouched down beside me to hand me a pair.

"You know how it works, right?" he asked.

I nodded.

I took the shoes from him and slipped my feet in. I had been smart enough to wear tights beneath my pants.

I quickly tied the shoes without thinking much about it. It was all very familiar and yet, I almost felt like I had when I first tried on pointes.

"You're tying pretty fast, "Marcus noted, while Alice stood behind him, grinning widely.

I bit my lip while I got up.

"Those are very soft, because I wasn't sure what strength we should start with. On the platform please," Marcus spoke in a calm voice.

"What, you are already trying on pointes? Why didn't anyone call me for this? I wanna see that posture," Rose screeched from somewhere behind me.

I turned around to see her approaching together with Leah.

Both of them came to halt and looked expectantly at me.

I shook my head at them, but didn't say anything. I was too occupied with the nervous feeling in my stomach. There was actually no reason for me to be nervous, since I was just trying on shoes and not auditioning for the Russian Ballet, but my nerves didn't seem to agree.

It had probably to do with the fact that I had last worn pointes on the day my mother died.

Swallowing, I took a few steps with the shoes before I stopped and slowly got unto the platforms. Or at least tried.

"The shanks are too soft," I said, knocking lightly with the shoe on the floor.

Marcus nodded as if he had thought as much even before I said that.

I took the shoes off and he handed me the next pair.

I didn't even tie those. "Too wide."

The pair that followed was also too wide and the one after that was too small.

The three girls were already sitting down, looking a bit frustrated although I should be the one to sigh in frustration.

Next, Marcus handed me a pair of black pointes. I quickly slipped them on and tied them up, not having to complain so far.

I took a few steps again, actually feeling comfortable in these shoes.

Then I slowly raised myself up on the platform of the right shoe. I frowned when I realized that these were too soft as well, but went up on the left platform as well.

"Aren't you arching your feet a bit too much?" Rose asked, staring at my feet.

"They're too soft," I told her.

"Wow, you have pretty bendy feet," Alice said. "How long did you say you danced?"

My eyes flitted over to Leah, but she was too occupied with staring at my feet as well.

I got off the platforms again and quickly untied the shoes.

"A while," I said.

"You must have danced at least a couple of years; otherwise you weren't allowed to dance on pointe."

"I know."

"So when did you stop dancing Ballet?"

I bit my lip.

I didn't want to let her know just exactly how long I had danced.

It wasn't a secret, but I knew the expectations that would come as soon as they knew about my dancing career.

I wasn't ready to dance yet and I still had to get used to the thought that I would have to join the others starting tomorrow. It would only be worse if everyone was expecting me to keep up right away or even surpass the others.

I just wanted a few days of getting used to dancing again before I was thrown to the sharks.

"Bella?" Alice pressed.

Knowing that she wouldn't let me be without an answer, I sighed, "I stopped dancing when my mother died."

It was to be expected that silence followed my words.

It was a normal reaction and I felt a slight bit bad for that. I knew that Alice would probably feel bad for asking now, thinking that she had upset me.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know," she stammered.

I sent her a tight-lipped smile. "It's okay."

Marcus handed me another pair and all of us turned our attention to the shoes, everyone wanting to change the topic.

"They are really pretty. I've always wanted white pointes, but I never found a pair that fit," Rose sighed.

I quickly slipped the shoes on, noticing right away that the shank definitely had the right strength this time.

I tied them up and didn't waste any time stepping around.

I got on the platforms right away, smiling when I felt the familiar pressure in all the right places.

Marcus looked up at me with a smile.

"I think we might have found the right pair," he said.

"I think so too."

"It definitely looks good from here," Leah said. "You should walk over to us."

It turned around in a fluent movement, feeling more graceful on pointe than when I was walking.

I took wide and slow steps and smiled happily. The shoes fit perfectly.

"They look really good," Alice said, nodding to herself.

"So you'll take those, correct?" Marcus asked, starting to clear up the shoe mess.

I bent my feet a little and nodded at him.

"Alice, isn't all of this a little too much?" I asked while Marcus was folding the endless amount of clothing and put them into giant paper bags.

"You need all of that," Alice argued.

"I'm pretty sure that I won't need everything."

"That'll be $769, 32," Marcus announced.

I groaned. "Who in their right mind spends this much for Leotards?"

"Oh my gosh, I totally didn't think of the money," Alice squeaked, "Can you even pay for all of that?"

"Wow, Alice. You are a truly considerate friend," Leah joked, "You just spent almost eight-hundred dollars of Bella's money and didn't even think twice about it."

Alice looked down guiltily. "I can pay for it if you want," she muttered.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, pulling out my wallet. "No need for that."

I handed Marcus my credit card, not really liking that I was throwing out that much money.

"Are you sure that it's okay? Your dad isn't going to be angry or anything when you spend this much, right?"

Alice sounded genuinely worried.

I took my card back from Marcus and grabbed the four paper bags that he held out for me.

"Don't worry about it, Alice. My father won't even know about this shopping trip."

"What, are you planning on hiding that bill from him?" Rose asked with raised eyebrows.

I shook my head. "I've got some money saved up, so there is no need for anyone to worry."

I got three sceptical looks directed at me.

I just ignored them.

I didn't feel like telling them that I inherited quite the sum from my mother. That combined with all the prize-money I had gotten over the years, made quite the fortune.

On our way back to the academy we dropped Leah off first and then Alice.

Rose and I both ended up in my room, breaking in our pointe shoes, much to the dismay of Irina. She had been trying to read while Rose and I were hitting the toe boxes of the shoes against the floor.

Rose and I were in hysterics when Irina left the room, complaining about 'amateurs'.

We both put on our new shoes and walked around on demi-pointe for a while. With Irina gone we put my iPod on its docking station and put it on full blast.

Our fun was interrupted by Irina though, because she returned and turned off the music, reminding us that it was time to get ready for bed.

Rose and I rolled our eyes at her, but she left anyway.

I quickly got ready for bed and for the first time since I had gotten here, I went to bed feeling nervous.

I had expected Alice to have a joyous outbreak once she saw my attire for the day.

I wore a purple leotard and matching legwarmers, which ended mid-thigh.

But Alice didn't even look at me when I greeted her. I wondered briefly if she was upset that I had put on a black sweater over the whole dance attire. She couldn't really be upset about it though, seeing that it was somewhat see through.

I quickly came to the conclusion that she was not upset with me because of my clothes.

Rose didn't know what was wrong with her either and when Irina and Victoria joined us, they were also looking a bit confused.

Not even the fact that I wore the purple Ballet slippers that Alice had picked out seemed to lighten her mood and so we ended up going to class with a silent Alice.

"Whatever you did it, must be pretty bad, because she usually never shuts up," Rose whispered to me.

"I didn't even do anything," I hissed.

Rose shrugged as we entered the dance studio.

Normally I would be going to my usual spot, waiting for Madam Cope but today I followed Rose.

I felt like a small kid all of the sudden and I was grateful that not everybody in the classroom was paying attention to me.

Rose, Alice and I all sat down in a corner and pulled out our pointe shoes.

"No way," Emmett's voice boomed, making me jump.

"Could stop screaming around like that?" Rose complained.

"Don't tell me you are dancing with us today, Bella?" Emmett asked me, completely ignoring Rose.

His loud voice could be heard in the whole room and all of a sudden every pair of eyes rested on me.

"No, I just wear pointes for fun," I grumbled.

"I don't believe you," Emmett sang.

"Jeez, Em. You're worse than Alice," Jasper muttered as he approached. "Dancing with us today?" he then asked, seeing me put on the shoes.

I didn't respond and just continued to concentrate on the shoes.

Jasper didn't seem to mind.

"Are you even allowed to wear pointe shoes?"

It was a slight bit unsettling how easily I recognized Edward's voice, despite the fact that I hadn't heard him talk often.

I looked up to glare at him.

"Why shouldn't I? Every girl wears those things around here," I replied.

"Yes, but those are all trained ballerinas. You do know that there are rules when it comes to these shoes, right?"

I got up and wanted to snark something back at him, but Alice beat me to it.

"Oh, she knows the rules alright. Maybe even better than you."

All of us looked at Alice with confused expressions, while Alice narrowed her eyes at me.

"Alice, are you feeling alright?" Jasper asked.

"No," she snapped, "I feel betrayed."

Another dark look at me.

Now everyone looked at me.

"What did you do to the little one?" Emmett asked me.

I opened my mouth to tell him that I didn't know, just when Madam Cope entered the room together with Madam Esme.

She looked around and when she saw me, she smiled. Something about her expression didn't sit well with me. Not that it wasn't a genuine smile, but there was this knowledge in her eyes that didn't ease my nerves.

As if she knew something that others didn't.

"Good Morning, class," Madam Cope greeted.

"Good Morning, Madam Cope and Madam Esme," the class chorused.

"Would each of you please sit down?"

Everyone did as we were told, sitting down on the floor. Still nobody knew what was going on.

The door opened again and a boy slowly stepped in.

"Ah yes, Mr. Milton. Take a seat," Madam Esme said when she saw him.

"What is Laurent doing here?" Victoria asked.

I hadn't even realized that she was sitting so close to us.

Alice made a strange noise, which led me to think that she knew what was going on.

I slid closer to her.

"Um, Alice?" I whispered.

She didn't look at me.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Yes," she hissed.

"Will you tell me what it is?"

Now Alice did turn to look at me. Or more like to glare at me.

"You didn't tell me."

"Tell you what?" Now I was downright confused.

"I thought we were friends."

"We are friends." These words left my mouth before I had time to think about it.

Alice face lightened up. "Really?"

"Err...yes?"

Then she scowled again, although the look wasn't as dark as it had been before.

"Then why didn't you tell me or any of us for that matter…"

"Tell you what?"

"Ms. Swan and Ms. Brandon, do you mind paying attention?" Madam Cope called.

Both teachers were looking at us with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry," we both muttered.

"Swan?" Victoria asked loudly. "Your name is Swan?"

"Actually it's Isabella Swan- what are you getting at?"

Victoria blinked and then gaped at me.

"You are Isabella Swan," she then suddenly screeched.

"Victoria," Madam Esme warned.

"B-but...but she is Isabella Swan," Victoria stammered.

I feared the direction in which this was heading.

"Jesus, Vic. We all got it now. Her name is Isabella Swan, so what? My name is Tanya Denali," Tanya said.

"So her mother is Renée Swan," Victoria snapped back at her friend.

"Gosh, Vicky. Stop acting like a crazy fangirl. Bella is hardly the only student in this school with a famous parent," Alice sighed.

"Why didn't you tell us, Bella?" Rose asked me, ignoring Alice's statement.

I buried my face in my hands, sighing loudly.

At least now I knew why Alice was upset. Although I found it ridiculous for her to be upset because I didn't tell her who my mother was.

"Ladies, could you save these conversations for later on?" Madam Cope said sternly, shutting everyone up, who had started to murmur.

I peaked at the two teachers from between my fingers, feeling that a lot of people were staring at me.

I hated it.

"So," Madam Esme started, "Madam Cope and I have been talking and we both feel like this class is not progressing as much as it should. I know that this is your first year of actual Pas de Deux classes and it is harder than it had been last year. Still, we expect more of you so we decided to make some changes."

A murmur went through the room.

Madam Cope silenced the room by speaking up again, "I've told the headmistress about each and everyone's progress and we have both noticed that some of the constellations are not working. Master DuPont didn't choose many good matches for this year's class. While some of you are already working brilliantly together, others still have to argue about the position of the hands and other trivial things."

I looked at Rose, who threw a menacing look in Edward's direction.

"So today we are going to change some of the pair ups. And some of you have noticed we have a new addition to our class to even out the number."

She gestured toward Laurent.

"I don't want a new partner," Victoria complained quietly.

"Of course, these new pairs will need to get used to each other so you will most likely repeat the lessons of the past weeks before you move on," Madam Esme said. "Okay now I'm just gonna tell you who your partners are."

She opened the small book she had held in her hands.

"Melanie Adams and Joshua Michaels..." she started listing.

I only listened with one ear, only waiting for familiar names.

"Victoria Carter and James Nomad."

Victoria breathed out a sigh of relief, causing me to chuckle at her.

"Happy that you didn't lose your sweetheart?" Rose joked.

Victoria only pulled a grimace at her.

"Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale."

Alice reacted exactly like Victoria had. She looked at Jasper, who smiled gently at her.

"Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan."

"What?" I shrieked without thinking.

Edward seemed to have thought the same thing, because I was pretty sure I just heard him protest as well.

Madam Esme looked at the two of us with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan," she repeated slowly.

Beside me I heard Rose giggle.

I would have punched her if I was not too busy being frozen in shock.

Not only did I have to dance again- I had to dance with Edward. Of all people in this room it just had to be him.

Dear God, please kill me...

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**___** Soooooo? What do you guys think? Will Edward and Bella be a better pairing than Edward and Rose? I'm not quite sure about that... we'll see :)**

**Okay, I still have absolutely nothing to ramble about so I'm just gonna let you guys go with a few last words:**

**Please review!**

**Love you all**

**xoxo ~ Star**


	8. Memories of the Past

**Edward POV**

She did it on purpose. I was sure of that. My mother wasn't one to be grinning smugly but just now I saw her doing exactly that. I scowled in return but she didn't notice. Why in the world did she have to throw me together with Bella? I instantly regretted ever having complained about Rose. Now I had to dance with Bella. Isabella. Isabella Swan.

I had almost forgotten about this new revelation. This girl couldn't honestly be the daughter of Renee Swan. A flicker of hope rose inside of me. Maybe this was a good thing - after all, her mother had been quite the dancer in her time. Maybe Isabella had inherited some of her mother's talent and her feet. So far none of us had seen her dance, at least not ballet. Who knew what she was capable of? But then again, I had yet to see her move with the grace of a ballerina. So far, I had only seen her jerky, not at all elegant movements from her.

I sighed. The bit of hope I had felt was lost. My thoughts were interrupted when a loud booming "What?" sounded right beside me. I looked at Emmett, who wore a disbelieving expression on his face. I frowned in confusion. What had happened to him?

Jasper nudged me slightly and nodded his head in the direction of the girls. My eyes instantly fell on Bella. Bella was sitting there with her legs an arms crossed and an unfocused look on her face. What was she thinking about? I realized that the reason for Emmett's outburst could not have been her.

"You can't pair me up with him," Rose complained. "He's an idiot!"

_So that's what happened._ Rose sat right beside Bella and wore the same expression on her face as Emmett.

"Ms. Hale, I do not tolerate this kind of rudeness in my classroom," Madam Cope warned. Rose only glared at her in return. "You and Mr. McCarthy will have to live with the fact that you are now partners. We are not changing the new pairings."

Rose opened her mouth to protest, as did Emmett, but one warning look from my mother was enough for the both of them to close their mouths again. At least I was not the only one who was unhappy with his new partner. Emmett ranted something, but it was too quiet for me to hear. As far as I could tell, he was cursing Rose and when I glanced at her, it seemed like she was throwing profanities at him as well. As if that was going to work out better than Rose and I together. I really had to start doubting my mother's judgment. Maybe she's getting too old...

While Rose and Bella were sticking their heads together with scowls on their face, murmuring to each other, and I suddenly had Emmett right by my ear, telling me how much this year was going to suck, Jasper and Alice were grinning like fools. Why those two weren't together yet was mystery to me. I knew that Alice has been crushing on him ever since the day the sun started rising. The remaining pairs were announced and there were no more complaints. Irina did pull a grimace when she got paired with Laurent though. Madam Cope gave us a little speech then about harmonizing and getting to know your partner to be able to communicate and trust each other.

After that, the lesson was over and we were all dismissed. I didn't even know why I noticed, but Bella was out of the room before the rest of the class had even risen from their seats. Alice started to go after her but was stopped by my mother, who went after Bella herself. I wondered what that was all about.

"Come on, Eddie," Emmett said and nudged me slightly with his foot. He glared at Rose, who didn't even pay attention to him anymore. She was furiously typing on her phone as she walked out. We were the only ones in the classroom who weren't busy chatting with our new partners.

With a sigh, I got up and the three of us made our way to our next class.

"I can't believe that I have to dance with Rose for the remainder of my time at this school," Emmett mumbled.

"I don't even get your problem. Not so long ago you were trying to get her to go out with you," Jasper said.

"Yeah, but that was before she turned me down and started to bitch at me at any given opportunity. The girl hates my guts."

"She doesn't hate you. Rose is just...err..."

"A bitter bitch."

Jasper sighed.

"I wish I would have gotten the little Swan as a partner," Emmett continued. I snorted. "What? She's hot and a lot nicer than Rose."

"Not to me," I argued.

"Well, it's not like you have been nice to her either," Jasper reasoned.

Thinking about it, I realized that he was right. Although it hadn't been my intention to be rude to her. Not exactly.

I sighed again. "I'll be nicer to her," I murmured.

"You better. She's your new dancing partner."

"Damn, I can't wait to see her dance and outshine little Eddie," Emmett laughed as we entered the dance studio.

"Who said that she's gonna outshine me?"

"Didn't you pay attention? Her mother-"

"Yeah, yeah. There is no guarantee that she's a talented dancer though."

"She has to be. You don't think your mother lets just anybody in, do you?"

I shrugged. Just then, Mr. Banner entered the room and called us to attention. I went through the motions almost on autopilot, not thinking too much about the things that I did. I was too caught up in my thoughts. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch break. I wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but followed Emmett to the cafeteria anyway and even went to sit with him and Jasper, knowing full well that the girls would join us. I hoped I could get to know Bella better. If I was really charming I might even be able to make her like me - or at least not hate me so much. I still wanted to curse my mother for partnering me up with her. Even if Bella was in fact a ballet dancer, she was probably the least disciplined one I had ever met. The way she carried herself and her arrogant attitude also didn't make her seem like a graceful person, let alone a ballerina.

"Oh, what a surprise, the great Edward Cullen graces us with his presence," Rose mocked as she approached.

I didn't grace her with a response. I secretly envied Emmett, but then quickly changed my mind when I looked at Rose. The bad mood practically radiated off of her and she didn't even acknowledge our presence. She was poking around in her food, taking a bite every now and then, which she chewed slowly as if she didn't actually want to swallow it. I raised a brow at Jasper, who was the only person - apart from Alice - who was able to deal with Rosalie's mood swings.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Jasper asked her in that easy-going way of his. Amongst all of us, he was currently the only one without a problem. It kind of bothered me that Jasper always seemed to have everything falling into place.

"No," his sister grumbled in response and stabbed a potato with her fork.

Jasper waited for her to continue, but she didn't say anymore; she just continued to assassinate her food.

"Hey, where's Bella?" Emmett asked.

"Alice and Bella left," she replied curtly.

"They left?" I asked in wonder.

"Yeah. Something about watching old videos," Rose shrugged.

"And you didn't go with them?" Jasper asked her.

"Bella didn't want me to." Rose then turned her attention to Emmett. "I hope for your sake that you are a better dancer than Edward."

Emmett ignored her, while I glared at Rose. She didn't mind and just continued to kill her already dead food. Sometimes I wondered how we all managed to always hang out with each other even though we didn't exactly get along. With a small sigh, I just resumed eating looking around the room in a casual manner. About halfway through lunch, which we had all spent without speaking much, my eyes caught sight of Bella and Alice, entering the cafeteria followed by my mother. Something was odd about it. Bella looked a little distant, while Alice was glowing with excitement and my mother watched Bella worriedly. She said something to her and got a nod in return before she went to join the other teachers at their table. Both Alice and Bella were headed for our table.

"What's got you all excited?" Emmett asked Alice.

Alice opened her mouth to answer, but then turned to look at Bella. Bella looked up and shook her head at Alice in warning.

Normally, my cousin didn't care too much about sharing information that others didn't want to share, but in this case it seemed like Bella's narrowed eyes were enough to convince her.

"Sorry, can't tell you," Alice answered simply with a shrug.

I frowned along with Emmett. This was strange.

Rose raised her eyebrows at Alice, questioning her silently.

Alice shook her head and mouthed something at her.

Rose's eyes lit up in slight understanding and she nodded back at her.

I was just left being confused. Bella, who sat down beside Jasper, sighed softly and stared off into space. For a moment, I thought she was looking at me, but after a few seconds I saw that she was really looking past me. Whatever she was thinking about made her frown. For the first time since I had met her, I got to look at her face for longer than just a few seconds. As I had noticed before, she was pretty. No, not pretty - she was beautiful. Her face held a mixture of mystery, warmth, and a trace of vulnerability. It was strange to see her face like this. She wasn't turning away for once, even if it was only due to the fact that she was lost in thought, and for once I could see that there was more to her than just the cocky attitude that usually radiated off her. I wondered briefly what had happened before for her to leave herself open like that.

Someone nudged me then. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at Alice, who raised her eyebrows at me in turn.

"What?" I asked her.

"I asked if you are coming to the beach with us today," Alice replied in an impatient tone.

"What do you want to do at the beach?"

"Err... hang out?" she suggested sarcastically.

"Only the weather isn't exactly suited for that," I countered.

Alice looked out the window and frowned at the cloudy sky. "Fine," she grumbled. "We can do something else then."

"Like what?" Jasper asked.

"I actually planned on hitting the gym later," Emmett said while gulping down the rest of his Diet Coke.

"I hope for your sake that you won't be out of shape tomorrow," Rose hissed at him. Emmett just ignored her.

"I think, I'm going to use this afternoon for some practicing," I threw into the round.

"You are always practicing," Alice objected.

"Of course I am, that _is_ the reason that I'm here - to dance."

She just rolled her eyes at me.

"If we are not going to do anything special, I'm gonna be holing up in the library to get some homework done. I'm kinda behind in classwork," Jasper mumbled.

"You always are behind," Emmett noted.

"Not true."

"Of course it is. I've never once seen you doing anything for school until the teachers announced some kind of test or something. It's still a mystery to me how you can always pass everything with such excellent grades."

Jasper shrugged and muttered something about being a genius.

"Fine, if you boys are all going to be totally lame, we are going to do something without you, right, Rose?" Alice sighed.

Rose only shrugged in answer but then caught Alice's glare and nodded her head halfheartedly.

The bell chose to ring in that moment. All of us rose from our chairs and gathered our things to head for our next classes. Only then Bella seemed to snap out of her stupor and looked around in slight confusion.

"Time for class," I reminded her.

She looked up at me with wide eyes, before her eyes narrowed slightly and then her brows furrowed. Then she got up as well and went with Rose and Alice. I didn't know what to make of that, so I just ignored her behavior. On my way to class, I noticed that the number one topic amongst my fellow students was the new partnering in the Junior Pas de deux class.

"You'd think they all have problems of their own," Jasper muttered when passed a few girls who were gushing about Emmett and Rose being partners.

I agreed with him, especially since I heard my name and Bella's being mentioned many times. Apparently, the news had gotten around that Bella was the daughter of Reneé Swan.

I glared at my mother all the way through French class, despite her skillful avoidance of my eyes as she went about teaching the class as usual. When I got to English Lit, I saw that Bella was already there, her head on the table like it usually was. Her eyes were closed and I briefly wondered if she was sleeping.

I took my seat behind her, staring at the back of her head without any real reason to do so. Yet, every time I let my eyes wander around the room, they landed on her again. I had a feeling that she sensed me looking at her, because she shifted around on her chair a couple of times, seemingly uncomfortable.

By the end of the lesson, I had Bella's hair colour memorized. Mahogany brown with a slight touch of red, which could hardly be seen.

The rest of the day passed quite slowly. Here and there I heard people talking about Bella and it seemed like the whole school didn't have anything else to talk about. While the girls were all making nasty remarks about how she could never come even close to her mother's skills, the boys were all thinking up plans to get into her good graces. Or more accurately, they were planning to hook up with her. For some unknown reason, this bothered me, but I just discarded it. Having the whole school talking about just one person was, of course, very irritating.

As always, after school I slipped into one of the music rooms and made myself comfortable in front of the piano. I continued with the song that I had just recently started and played for quite some time until I got bored with it. I went back up to my room and decided to nap until it was time for dinner.

I drifted off into sleep rather quickly. A brown-haired girl made a lot of appearances in my dreams.

**Bella POV**

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck. How was I supposed to manage dancing with that prick, Edward?

I barely paid attention to the things that happened around me.

"Come on, Bella," I heard Alice say as she nudged me slightly. I blinked and looked at her. She gave me an encouraging smile, which I found weird since she had been scowling at me a few minutes ago.

I got up and made my way out of the classroom, not looking at Alice. When I stepped out of the room, I took a deep breath. The air seemed strangely suffocating.

"Bella?" I turned at the sound of Madam Esme's voice. She approached me with a worried expression on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked carefully.

"How could you partner me up with Edward?" I blurted without really thinking about it.

She looked at me with a slight frown. "I-"

"He's awful, selfish, arrogant and just downright horrible," I ranted. An irritated impatience started to fill me and for some reason I just felt the need to be angry about something.

"Bella, are you sure you are not being a bit harsh?" I heard Alice ask. The tiny girl appeared behind her aunt and looked at me with wide eyes.

"I don't care," I snapped at her. "I agreed that I'd try to put more effort into classes, but I never agreed on partnering up with one of the most arrogant students in the whole school. I don't want a Pas de Deux partner, especially not Edward."

Madam Esme gave me a calm look. "Maybe we should go to my office," she suggested.

I didn't actually want to go with her, but something about her made me follow her to her office. Alice walked beside me in silence.

When we stepped into the headmistress' office, Alice closed the door quietly behind me, while, Madam Esme switched on a TV that I hadn't seen before in the office.

"Sit down," she instructed.

I looked at Alice in confusion, who just nodded in return. We both sat on a chair, our attention turned to the TV. Madam Esme perched herself on her desk and pressed 'play' on the remote. I immediately recognized what we were watching. A female voice was speaking, announcing a contestant. I heard my name and the piece that I was going to dance. The video must be about three years old. I saw myself jumping onto stage.

It was kind of surreal. It had been quite some time since I had last seen myself dance. La Fille Mal Gardee had been one of my mother's favorite dances. She had always said I looked so carefree and happy when I was dancing it. Of course it had taken me lots of practicing to make it look so carefree. I remembered how my mother had spent hours making the dress that I wore for the performance.

I bit my lip and the next dance came on. It was my performance at the American Dance Competition - La Esmeralda.

_"You did it!" Mom squealed. "It was so beautiful, my Bellarina."_

_I got down from my platforms and looked at her, jumping up and down excitedly. I smiled at my mother gratefully and bowed._

_"I am 100% sure that no one else is able to dance better than you. You are perfect."_

_"I hope the judges will think so too," I muttered and sat down on the floor to take off my pointes._

_"Of course they will. Even a blind person can see how absolutely wonderful you are."_

_I sighed at my mother's enthusiasm, but couldn't hide the little smile on my face._

_"Come on, one more time - I'll even join you this time."_

_"But I just took my shoes off," I whined._

_"Then put them on again," Mom insisted._

_With a roll of my eyes, I put my shoes on again. There was no point in arguing with her once she got this excited._

My vision was getting blurred, while the music kept playing and I could hear the audience on TV whisper and occasionally applauding. My heart started to beat faster. The sounds were all too familiar and I secretly yearned to return to my former way of life. But I knew that I couldn't. I could never be the same girl again and it was all my fault.

_"But Mom-"_

_"No, Bella. I know how this works and trust me when I say that it's not good for you to be signed this early," she interrupted me._

_"Of course it's good for me. Why wouldn't it be? I'll be a professional dancer, I'll get paid, I'll be recognized, and I get to dance in some of the biggest plays that have ever been written. I don't see what is so bad about me being able to dance Swan Lake," I argued._

_"Isabella," my mother sighed in exasperation. "You are only fifteen. I don't want you out in the cruel world of Ballet so soon. You aren't even done with school yet."_

_"I'll be sixteen next month and you got signed by the Ballet Arizona when you were sixteen, so why can't I?"_

_"Exactly. That is why you should trust me with this. I've already been there and I know what I'm talking about."_

_"You just don't want me to get signed. You're just scared that I'll be more famous than you. You just don't want me to overshadow you," I shouted._

_My mother rolled her eyes at me. "You know that's not true," she said._

_I didn't listen to her. "You just ruined my entire career," I screamed as I stomped upstairs to my room. __I didn't understand why my mother didn't want me to take advantage of this wonderful offer._

_I went into my room to quickly grab my sports bag. On my way out of my room, I made a big show of banging the door to make my mother think I was now sulking in my room. I quietly tiptoed down the stairs and looked around to be sure that Mom didn't see me. She continued washing the dishes and had her back turned toward me. I quietly slipped out of the house and let out a deep breath. I usually didn't sneak out at night, but I was not in the mood to stay in the house._

_I walked down the street, still fuming and with no intention of going back home any time soon. Before I knew it, I stood in front of the little ballet school in the neighborhood. The lights were still on. __Mrs. Schmidt, who the school belonged to, walked out of the little building._

_"Oh, Isabella, what are you doing here so late?" she asked when she saw me._

_I shrugged. "Just walking around. Just had an argument with my mother," I mumbled._

_"I'm sure the two of you will get it settled soon," Mrs. Schmidt offered._

_"Maybe," I allowed, but then had an idea."Um... Mrs. Schmidt?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Is it possible for you to let me in the studio to dance for a while?" I asked._

_ Mrs. Schmidt smiled gently at me. "Of course. Here, I'll give you the key and you just come around tomorrow and give it to me, okay?"_

_"Sure." She handed me the key and after a quick good-bye, she took off._

_I let myself into the studio and walked around for a moment before I went over to the stereo and turned it on. The song that played was "All of Me" by Jon Schmidt. I knew that Mrs. Schmidt had a special preference for this song because she shared the name with the composer. Her students always had a hard time dancing to it, since it was so fast. Even I had problems with it, but I didn't care at the moment and just put on my pointes. I quickly pulled on my dancing dress, restarted the song, and lost myself immediately in the slow notes in the beginning._

_It was easy to forget everything around me whilst dancing. I twirled around and jumped and couldn't even tell the difference between floor and ceiling. My bad mood was starting to fade and instead an ecstatic high made its way through me. An unusual lightness that always overcame me when I was dancing began to fill me. A small laugh escaped my lips just when the music reached its climax._

_Then I heard sounds that weren't supposed to be there. A loud sounding bang, that reminded me of a shot, followed by a scream. I stopped dancing and listened more carefully. It took me a moment to register that I had indeed heard a shot and my mind slowly processed the scream. __The voice was too familiar._

_I walked out on the streets, still in my pointes. My instincts led me around the corner. The scene in front of me was so surreal that I couldn't believe it at first. I recognized my mother easily, despite the darkness. She looked as beautiful as always and if it weren't for the blood covering her body, it could have been a perfectly peaceful picture._

"Bella? Bellaaa?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and saw Alice and Madam Esme right in front of me. Madam Esme handed me a tissue. I took it and looked around the room. Something here was making a terrible noise.

"Bella, calm down. Everything's okay," Alice said soothingly. Then it occurred to me that the terrible noise I heard was me - I'd never liked the sound of me crying, let alone howling like a wounded dog. "Should I get her to her room?" I heard Alice ask.

My breath hitched. I didn't like to be treated like I was sick and fragile. I tried to swallow my sobs, which only resulted in me shaking badly. I took slow breaths and tried to banish the memory of my mother's dead body.

"I don't think that is going to be necessary, Alice," Madam Esme answered and then gently pushed her aside. She knelt down in front of me and took both of my hands. "I'm sorry for upsetting you, Bella. I had no idea with what kind of things you were dealing with," she said apologetically. I just nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry if this is the wrong moment," Alice began slowly, "But you are an amazing dancer. I was totally blown away when I watched." Alice eyes practically glowed. "I can't believe that you never told me that you are such an amazing dancer. Edward is so lucky to have you as a partner."

I couldn't reply to that. I wasn't even sure if my voice worked at all.

"Alice, just let her be for a moment," Madam Esme warned and then turned to me. "Bella, I know that this is hard for you, but I just want you to see that you are such a great dancer, one of the most talented in your age group, and you shouldn't waste talent like that. Your mother worked hard to get you to where you are today and I'm sure she wouldn't want you to be miserable all your life." I knew that there was truth in her words, but I wasn't quite ready to accept it. "I paired you up with Edward on purpose because I hope that it might be good for the both of you."

"What good will I do for Edward?" I asked in a hoarse voice.

Madam Esme smiled. "You'd be surprised how much improvement Edward still needs." I didn't know what to make of her words but didn't say anymore.

My tears had stopped flowing and I wiped away the remaining wetness on my face.

"Do you want to join the others for lunch?" Alice asked out of the blue. Taking one last deep breath, I nodded.

"Let's go to lunch then." Madam Esme got up and held out her hand toward me. I took it and she helped me up.

On our way to the cafeteria I tried to ignore the worried glances of Madam Esme and Alice. After we had gotten our trays, Madam Esme turned to me one more time.

"Are going to be alright?" I nodded at her and she smiled once more at me.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I went through my motions and was mostly lost in thought. I thought about all my past performances and how I had enjoyed being on stage. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to dance again. Although my mind was preoccupied with other things all day, I didn't fail to notice that someone was always watching me. Apparently, the whole school was talking about me and Edward being partners. I ignored them.

When the school day ended, Alice and Rose caught up with me. They tried to persuade me to go swimming with them, but after telling them about three times that I wasn't feeling well, they let me be. I went to my room and just threw myself on my bed. The day had totally exhausted me. I slowly drifted off to sleep. My dreams were filled with pointes, tights, tutus and even Edward made an occasional appearance. That disturbed me so much that I abruptly woke up.

"Bad dream?" Victoria asked, looking up from her small mirror.

I rubbed my eyes and stretched. "You could say that," I replied hoarsely.

"You should take a walk around. I always do that after a bad dream - shakes off the memories when you see all those freaks walking around here," she advised.

I laughed slightly, "I might just do that." I got out of bed and went over to the closet and put on another sweater.

"I'll go with you," Victoria said and together we walked out of the room.

We wandered around the school, but it didn't actually help me much. All those people walking around in dancing gear, talking about dancing or listening to music just reminded me of my ballet dreams. There was no real escape. If I wanted to survive here I had to get back to dancing.

"Do you hear that?" I looked at Victoria. We hadn't actually talked much and were now walking around in an empty corridor on our way back to our room. I listened for any other sounds and heard music coming out of one of the practice rooms.

"I thought we weren't allowed to use the practice rooms outside of class," I said.

"Well, it is allowed, but we need permission to do so," Victoria shrugged. "Should we take a look inside?" Her eyes gleamed.

I sighed and rolled my eyes but nodded anyway.

Victoria led the way to the room where the music came from and opened the door slightly. The sight in front of us was almost dream-like.

He was spinning and twirling with an uncanny grace. His steps were light and elegant and his whole being seemed to be in tune with the music. I couldn't take my eyes off him and watching him made me feel strangely calm. The music started to fade and his movements slowed. When the last note had sounded, he turned around. Despite the fact that Victoria and I were both standing there, Edward was only looking at me. His piercing green eyes looked right through me and I was just left to stand and stare. In that moment, I knew that dancing with Edward might be a good thing.

But it didn't change the fact that it scared me.

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><p><strong>xoxoxoxo - I'm sooooooooo sorry that you guys had to wait that long. I'm currently not able to type on a regular basis due to some private issues which will hopefully be solved in a couple of weeks. I'm not really at home at the moment so right now I'm uploading this chapter with my phone- the things I do for my readers... Okay, so the chappie might have a few mistakes and I apologize for that -.-' Weeell, I don't have anything to say. Just leave a review and make my day.<strong>

**Lots of love!**

**~Star~**


	9. Un, deux, trois

_**A/N:**___**Another day, another chapter. I'm really sorry for always taking so long for the updates- I'm really trying to update as fast as possible.**

**So I hope you all didn't lose your patience with me yet :) **

**Okay, I have nothing ramble about so I'm just gonna let you go on and read- I'll be at the bottom ;)**

* * *

><p><em>Bella Pov<em>

"You look stunning, Bella," Alice gushed.

I sat down with my tray and rolled my eyes at her.

"Good morning to you too," I retorted, before I took a bite of my toast.

"Ready to rock the dance floor today, Bella?" Emmett asked me, grinning widely.

It still confused me a little how I ended up sitting with them all together at breakfast but I didn't comment on that. Instead, I glared at Emmett.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said.

Rosalie let out a sigh but didn't say anything.

She just continued to poke around in her salad.

"Today is going to be fabulous," Alice squealed.

She shot a quick glance in Jasper's direction and smiled lightly to herself.

"Alice, it's still early. Could you be a little less hyper?"

I froze at the sound of this voice.

I hadn't seen Edward since I had been spying on him yesterday. For some reason he didn't appear at dinner last night.

When Alice had asked Emmett, he only told her that Edward wasn't hungry.

I had been pretty sure that Edward just didn't want to see me.

Not that I minded. I didn't need to have him around me anyway.

Edward got seated at the table as well, completing the group.

Forcing my eyes not to wander in his direction, I continued eating.

"Not everyone can be as moody as you are," Alice replied and stuck her tongue out at him.

Way to show your maturity, Alice!

"Ask Rosie, she's worse than Edward," Emmett piped in, earning a death glare from Rose almost immediately.

Emmett didn't seem to be affected by it at all and just shrugged it off.

Out of the whole bunch, I liked Rose and Jasper the most at this moment. At least they were quiet.

I really wasn't a morning person, but today my mood was even worse - thanks to the awesome new pairings that the school provided for us.

Maybe I should call Charlie and tell him that I've seen the light and will change for the better if only he got me out of this mad house.

The chances that he'd do that, though, were next to non-existent.

Sighing, I continued with my breakfast. The bickering that was going on between Alice, Emmett and Jasper was easy to ignore since I was too distracted by the unpleasant feeling in my stomach.

The food helped quench it a little, but the nerves were still present.

When breakfast was over I was ready to crawl into a corner and curl myself up in a ball.

"Come on, Bella. Today is going to be a wonderful day," Alice cheered, while she tugged me along to our first class.

Her word in God's ear. I really doubted that today would be anything even remotely close to 'wonderful'.

When we got to class, the room was already filled with students talking excitedly to one another, as if this was their first dancing lesson ever.

Alice pulled me into a quiet corner with Rose following us. We had lost the boys on our way, which probably had to do with the fact that Alice had been in such a rush to get here.

"Okay now, let's get you motivated," Alice announced.

"There is nothing in the world that will motivate me," I told her dryly.

Rose made an agreeing sound. At least I was not the only one who had to suffer.

"Could you two please stop being so negative," Alice complained. She turned to Rose.

"You should be happy that you got Emmett as your partner. He might not be your favourite person, but he's a good dancing partner. No one has ever complained about him and he's pretty good with the lifts. See this as your chance to improve your grade."

Rose grimaced.

"And you, Bella, you have the best dancer in our class as your partner. Edward's technique is solid, he knows how to lead and more importantly - you two will look great together."

Rose and I exchanged pointed looks.

I had to hand it to Alice; she really was trying with the whole motivation thing. The sad thing was that she had to motivate us which was just about as complicated as convincing a cat to take a bath.

Alice looked at the two of us for a moment.

"At least act as if you think about what I said," she sighed after a moment of silence.

Rose sent her a tight-lipped smile. "I'm gonna go and stretch."

Alice groaned, but followed her to the barre anyway.

I looked after the two of them and decided that I would not join them. Still, I had to stretch as well. For a moment I just stood there. Despite the fact that I had been doing more stretches in my time here than I've ever done in my entire life, I'd always kept to the basics and now I felt weird of having to face the task of doing my old warm up routine.

I looked at the clock that hung above the mirrors.

We still had ten minutes until class actually started.

Biting my lip, I tried to channel the nerves that were flaring up again.

"_I know that you hate stretching, Bella, but I don't want you to hurt yourself. How am I supposed to earn money with you then?" Mom asked, smiling jokingly at me._

_I rolled my eyes at her._

"_Come on, I'll even stretch with you."_

The memory of my overly enthusiastic mother made me smile lightly.

Might as well get it over with.

I slowly slid my legs apart until I touched the ground in jazz splits.

It used to be fairly easy to do that - it still was - but it felt a little weird.

Pushing down slowly, I felt the familiar pull in my body. Much to my surprise I was still able to face flat on my leg. I stayed like this for a little while, resting my elbows on the ground, before I slowly unbent my back leg.

"Looking good, Bella."

I looked up to find Victoria smiling down at me, before she split down on the floor in a centre spit.

I got out of my current position and mimicked her motion, earning another smile.

"You need to turn out a bit more and point your feet," Victoria instructed.

Nodding, I followed her instructions.

"So, are you nervous about today?" she asked casually.

"Why should I be?" I shot back, right away.

Victoria looked a little surprised.

"Well, I would be nervous if I had to dance with Edward Cullen all of a sudden. He's pretty good. I still wonder why he and Rose didn't get along. They're both really good."

I shrugged in answer.

"I guess you don't worry about this much, do you? You're probably a brilliant dancer."

"Wouldn't say that," I mumbled.

Victoria quirked an eyebrow at me.

Sighing, I brought my legs back together and sat on my feet. I took one leg out in front of me, straightened it, and grabbed my foot with both hands.

"I haven't danced Ballet in a year," I admitted.

"Are you serious?" Victoria inquired. Now she was mimicking my motions.

I switched the legs before I answered, "It would be a pretty bad joke if not."

"Didn't your Mom die around that time?" Victoria blurted out.

She immediately looked to the ground, a faint shade of pink colouring her face.

"Did you Google me or something?" I asked her.

Her blush intensified.

"I was curious," she muttered.

For some reason I didn't want her to feel bad about it. She was most likely not the only one who did her research and I couldn't blame her. It was only natural to be curious.

"Yes, she did," I answered softly.

Victoria looked up, obviously relieved that I wasn't angry at her for bringing the subject up.

"She was an amazing dancer," she said.

I nodded and crawled over to where I had dropped my bag to retrieve my pointes.

"Maybe it'll help you to know that Madam Cope will most likely go easy on us today, since we all have new partners," Victoria said encouragingly.

That didn't really help me but I didn't tell her that.

I busied myself with binding the pointes.

Just then Rose appeared by my side.

"Ready to face eternal doom?" she asked me, holding out her hand toward me.

I took it and let her pull me up.

"Not really."

"Good, me neither."

She grinned, but I could tell that she wasn't really into it.

"I'm going to give you a few pointers," she took a deep breath, "First; you need to make sure to tell Edward where exactly your centre of gravity is. All the guys think they know, after having been taught theoretically - they obviously don't. With Edward you might need to tell him more than once because he doesn't listen. Second, don't feel sorry for hitting him- he deserves it and he's supposed to be handling it. And never wear any slick leos. He'll complain for ages about it."

Rose face took on a sour expression.

"Anything else?"

"Well, as much as I dislike him as a partner...You need to trust him. Don't be scared that you might fall or anything. It's his job to keep your face off the ground."

"Thanks Rose."

She opened her mouth to respond, but Madam Cope chose that moment to make her appearance.

"Good morning class," she greeted.

"Good morning, Madam Cope."

I didn't join in on the chorus.

Rose pulled me along to the middle of the room, where Alice and the others stood.

"Get positioned," Madam Cope instructed.

Immediately, everyone in the room moved.

I felt my arm being grabbed once again and I was pulled a little to the side.

Looking up, I saw that it was Edward. He wasn't looking at me and let go of me as soon as we stood in the right place.

Looking around the room, I saw that all the couples stood in respectable distance to the next, waiting for the next instruction.

Once again, the nerves made themselves known. I felt like puking right there on the ground.

Madam Cope looked at each of us before she continued," Very well. Since most of you have a new partner, we will do something a little more basic today. In fact, we will be re-starting this entire class- I hope this time I will get better results."

With me being amongst the dancers, her hopes were going to be crushed pretty soon.

"Now boys, stand behind your partner."

It was already weird having Edward standing so close beside me but when he stood behind me, I felt like having to step away.

He wasn't even standing very close, but I still felt the heat his body was radiating.

"Alright, I want all the ladies to do a pirouette. Boys, you might want to stand back for this. Just watch her to get a sense of her technique. On the count of three..."

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for the turn.

I felt Edward taking a step back, which should have made me relax a little but it didn't.

My hands were shaking a little and I bit down on my lip again.

In the corner of my eyes I saw how all the other girls were already in position.

"Un, deux, trois!"

Before I could even move myself into position, all the others had already completed beautiful pirouettes - all of them more or less in sync.

I felt like a stupid little child in the midst of all this.

"Ms. Swan, why didn't I see you move?" Madam Cope demanded.

Everyone's eyes settled on me, which really didn't help me with my nervousness.

"I...uh...sorry," I stuttered right away.

Wherever it was that my confidence had gone to, it should return to me quickly because I was a lost case without it.

"Well, do you mind doing as I asked you to do now?"

I gulped and quickly shook my head.

Madam Cope clapped her hands. "Into position."

I quickly got into position and raised my arms.

"Un, deux, trois!"

I spun around once and brought my right foot down to end the turn neatly. It just didn't really happen.

I lost my balance and stumbled a bit to the side.

A few quite giggle went through the room. My cheeks started to heat up, announcing a blush.

"Ms. Swan, I hope this wasn't the best that you could do. Again please," Madam Cope instructed.

This time she didn't bother to count.

I did the pirouette again, but the result wasn't much better.

Madam Cope sighed and shook her head sadly.

"Again!"

Biting my lip harder than before, I got into position again.

I was just about to turn for the third time when I felt Edward's presence behind me again.

I didn't know how I could tell that it was Edward, but I knew that it was him.

Just when I was about to turn my head and look at him in question, he said, "Don't look at me. Just do your pirouette."

Frowning, I stood there for a moment not sure what to make of this.

Then I decided to just let it go and get it over with.

So I spun around once again but this time it was different.

In the middle of my turn, I felt Edward's hands on my mid-riff.

A strange electric jolt went once through my body

I stopped the turn and this time I ended it neatly with Edward's hands holding me in place.

He wasn't even really holding me. His hands barely even touched me, but it was still enough to balance me properly.

"Thank you, Mr. Cullen for demonstrating the next step," Madam Cope said.

Edward's hands left my body and a weird burning was now there where his hands had rested.

I didn't even dare to turn around and look at him.

By now my entire face would probably be rivalling a tomato.

"I want you all to do the same now and this time I want Ms. Swan to participate."

She counted once more and I turned swiftly.

Edward's hands came up to guide me again so I ended the turn as gracefully as the one before.

Madam Cope nodded at me in approval before she scolded a few others for not getting it right.

I turned my head to the side so that I could see Edward from the corner of my eyes.

"Thanks," I muttered, not wanting to seem ungrateful.

I was very grateful for his help; otherwise I might have continued looking like a complete fool for the rest of the lesson.

I saw him shrug in answer.

After a few more turns, Madam Cope announced it was time to do something more challenging.

"Now I want to see an _échappé _en pointe- three times and then turn and back into first position. Boys, remember not to hold on too tightly and don't turn her too hard. I don't want any injuries in class."

Edward had his hands on me again, while I tried to get my fuzzy brain to work.

I knew what I had to do, but I had problems to get it done with Edward being right there.

Madam Cope counted us in once more and we all got started.

I bend my legs into a plié and wanted to back up but Edward's hands hindered me.

He was keeping me down.

I tried it anyway but didn't land on my pointes as I had intended to.

Madam Cope was walking around inspecting each couple, giving a few pointers, while I tried again.

I failed once more and Edward sighed.

"This is pretty simple, you should be able to do this," he muttered, probably not even to me.

"Well, if you weren't holding me down, I might get somewhere with this," I snapped back.

It was more out of reflex than anything else.

I looked up into the mirror and saw Edward's facial expression change for a moment, before he loosened his grip a little more.

Trying the whole thing again, I was ready to weep in joy when I finally made it.

When it was time for the turn, Madam Cope had reached us.

Edward repositioned his hands a little, guiding my turn.

When I faced him for a short moment, his eyes met mine almost instantly.

His eyes were truly unique.

He was in deep concentration and didn't seem to really acknowledge me.

When I was facing away from him again and got down unto the ground again, I felt a bit dazzled.

Where did that come from?

"Very nice," Madam Cope approved.

She turned to the next couple and Edward let go of me.

Alice was suddenly by my side.

"You are doing so well," she said, smiling at me.

She seemed to be glowing with happiness.

"Yeah right," I scoffed, turning to see where Edward was.

He was talking to Jasper.

I hadn't even noticed that Alice and Jasper had been right beside us.

"No, you really are. No one expects you to be perfect- it's your first day after all and you're really doing well," she insisted.

She seemed to genuinely believe it so I just smiled back at her.

"Thank you, Alice."

"You really shouldn't worry about messing up every now and then. It's normal. Having a new partner is always a bit weird at first and it effects your dancing."

I just nodded.

"Alright class, you are dismissed," Madam Cope announced at the same moment as the bell rang.

All tension left my body right then. I had survived the worst part of the day.

"I survived the worst part of the day, who would have thought?" Rose said as she joined us.

"Not me, that's for sure," I replied.

Alice rolled her eyes at us.

"You two should stop being so dramatic. It's no big deal really."

Rose responded something about not being dramatic, while I quickly took off my pointes and retrieved my bag.

"Let's go and surprise Madam Justins," I said, ready to head to the next class.

Technique class really wasn't all that hard most of the time, so I was pretty positive that I might do better there than I just had.

Alice and Rose got their bags as well and said their good-byes to the guys before we headed to our next class.

Apparently, today was a barre-work day. There were barres lined up in the entire room and everyone went to find herself a spot.

I found myself between Alice and Rose, who were both talking about pedicures and massages whilst stretching. I half-heartedly did the stretches as well, but didn't contribute anything to the conversation.

Madam Justins walked in a few moments later and her eyes immediately zeroed in on me.

She seemed to be pleased with finding me at the barre and started her lesson.

This time it wasn't too difficult for me to keep up.

It was easy for me to fall in step with all the others, but my body wasn't used to these motions anymore.

I felt muscles that hadn't been used in a long time and I knew that I was going to be sore at the end of the day.

I kept a straight face though, not wanting to seem like a whiny bitch.

Madam Justins was walking around correcting and voicing her approval in rare cases.

When she passed me she nodded and gave me a "Very good, Isabella." before she moved on.

I had almost forgotten how it was to get the approval of a Ballet teacher.

We all fought for it, so it was pretty much the most important thing in the entire education.

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips and when I saw Tanya scowling into my direction, I pulled a grimace at her.

When we got to Classical Ballet it was a bit more difficult for me to keep up.

I had watched the routine many times, but I still had to find my spot in it.

Madam Houston kept on encouraging me anyway and after half of the lesson had passed I finally managed the routine.

By the end of the lesson, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep for the next two days.

My entire body was hurting and my feet felt like they were starting to swell.

So much for keeping in shape with Hip Hop dancing.

I made my way to the cafeteria, my legs protesting with every step I took.

Alice and Rose were already seated and Alice was waving at me to come and join them.

Why did they have to choose a table so far at the back?

With heavy steps, I walked over and got seated.

"How was your last class?" Alice asked me right away.

"Painful."

She shot me a sympathetic look.

"Your entire body must be aching," she noted.

"You have no idea."

"Tell you what, we go and get a massage after class. I could use some spa treatment and it'll be good for your muscles."

I had to admit that it sounded appealing.

"Sure, why not?"

"We're not taking the boys with us, are we?" Rose asked.

Once again, she was poking around in her food.

"Why? Where are you going?" Jasper asked.

He and Edward just appeared at the table.

"Shopping," Alice answered him with a wide grin.

Jasper made a face.

"I don't think that I have time for that today," he said. "Take Edward with you."

"I'm busy," Edward claimed, although it wasn't very convincing.

"Too bad," Alice pouted but quickly resumed eating.

"Hey guys, guess what is going to be the event of this weekend?" Emmett's voice boomed as he approached the table.

"You learning to speak at normal volumes?" Rose guessed sarcastically.

"Nope."

"What is it? Twinkle-town musical is coming to town?" I asked him.

"No, but that would be pretty nice," Emmett mused. "Anyway, it's a party. The Ventura's are out of town."

"And why would we care about that?" Rose asked, sounding bored.

"Err... because every time the Ventura's are out of town, their kid throws the most amazing parties?"

"And to how many of those parties were you invited?" Jasper pressed.

He seemed to be as unimpressed by this as his sister.

Emmett's enthusiasm faded and he looked down. "None," he replied quietly.

"Well that's settled then," Alice commented. "So what are we going to do this weekend?"

"Wait, wait, wait," I interfered. "So someone in this town throws the best parties and you're not going?" I inquired. The word party had instantly gotten my attention when Emmett first mentioned it.

Alice let out a sigh. "It's not like we don't want to, but we won't get into the house. They only let people with invitations in- which would be the whole town, except for the people at the Academy."

She sounded almost wistful while she said this.

"I take it that this person is not a student here?"

"Umm...no."

"Can't we just go there anyway? There has to be a back door or something."

"It's not that simple. The Ventura's live a little outside of town. Do you know why?" Rose continued speaking instead of Alice.

I shook my head. Of course, I didn't know. Why did she even ask?

"Their house is too big to actually fit into this town. It's the biggest mansion around here. There are about three unnecessarily big buildings around here. One is the Academy, which is actually very necessary because it's a school. The other is the Cullen House and of course the Ventura Mansion. We are already privileged to have access to two of these houses."

"So we can't crash the party?" I clarified.

"Only if partying with the security guards is what you had in mind."

I frowned. So much for that.

We finished lunch discussing what we'd do on the weekend. I didn't participate in the discussion, but I was involved in all of their plans. In the end nothing useful came out of it.

As far as I remembered, they planned a movie marathon at Alice's and Edward's place. Fun.

The afternoon classes were by far the most painful part of the day.

I was exhausted and my entire body was screaming at me to rest, yet I had to sit in a classroom and pay attention to the unnecessary things that the teachers said.

We wouldn't need most of this stuff in our future lives anyway.

Once classes were over, I went to my room and collapsed on the floor. Climbing up to my bed was way too much work.

The door opened and Irina walked in.

She looked down on me but didn't look like she found it unusual to see a half dead girl lying on the floor.

"You need to move to soothe your muscles. It gets worse if you rest for too long," she said casually and made herself comfortable on her bed.

"If I could move, I would have moved up to my bed," I retorted.

The door opened once more and the face of Alice appeared in front of my face.

"Come on, Bella. Time to get a good rubbing," she squealed happily.

Whatever it was that she was taking, I needed a dose of that.

"Carry me," I said weakly.

"Oh, stop being so whiny. You think you're in pain now? Wait until tomorrow."

Rose's words were the furthest from encouraging that you could get.

"Just shoot me. I have no more reason to stay amongst the living," I sighed.

"Get up now. I want my massage," Alice instructed and kicked me.

Yes, she actually kicked me.

With a groan I sat up and sent a quick glare in Alice's direction.

She just smiled innocently back at me.

Shaking my head, I got off the ground.

"Let's go then," I sighed and gestured for them to lead the way.

How I even motivated my body to follow them to the spa was a mystery to me, but once I was seated in the comfortable chair with my feet soaking in a small tub I was more than happy to have come here.

"Are you sure you don't want a massage?" Alice called from behind me, where she and Rose were lying on massage tables.

Much to their disappointment their masseuses were female.

"I'm not going to let anyone touch my body today. Besides, I'm more concerned about my feet."

If Alice decided to respond to that, I didn't hear it because my phone started ringing.

"You brought your phone with you?" Rose asked in disbelieve.

"It was in my pocket," I informed her before I answered the call.

"Bella, what are you doing this weekend?"

"Hello to you too, Leah," I said slowly.

Leah just let out an impatient sigh. "Yeah, yeah. So what are you doing?"

"Err... I'm not sure. It seems like I have to go to the Cullen's place for a movie mara-"

"Forget that shit," Leah interrupted. "You're going to party with me."

"Say what?"

"Party. You and me. Totally awesome," she said slowly.

"And when is that party supposed to be?" I asked her.

"On Friday night. I asked Chris if you could come as well and she was cool with it."

"How is it that everyone is throwing parties this weekend?"

"Everyone?" Leah questioned. "I only know of one and that would be the one at Chris' place."

"Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of major party in the Ventura residence?"

Leah giggled. "Oh Bella, you still have so much to learn. Chris Ventura invited us to her party."

That was when I finally understood.

"It finally pays off to be dating Paul," Leah gushed.

"Good to know that there is a use to your boyfriend," I said dryly.

"I know. So you are coming to the party with me, right?"

"Yeah, sure. It's about time that something interesting is happening in this town."

"Coolness. I'll pick you up so we can get ready at my place."

"Sounds good."

"Alright, see you then."

She hung up before I replied to that.

"Who was it?" Alice asked me right away.

Why is she being so nosy?

"Just Leah, she invited me to a party."

"Really? When?"

"Friday night."

Alice let out a squeal. "Do you think we can come too?"

"Umm...Probably not. It's the party Emmett was talking about earlier," I replied slowly.

"You're invited to the Ventura party?" Rose all but screeched.

I had already been wondering if she was still there.

"Seems like it."

Rose muttered something that sounded like 'Lucky Bitch'.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so jealous," Alice said. "I wish I could go as well. It would be the perfect opportunity to wear the dress that I bought last month..."

She continued her blabbering and I just stopped listening to her.

"_You _are invited to the party?" Emmett's voice boomed.

"Yes," I sighed and pushed my plate away from me.

I wasn't really hungry.

"How come you are invited?"

"I've got connections."

"No academy student is ever invited to that party- you are the only one," Emmett pressed.

"Not the only one. Leah is invited as well."

"Emmett could you stop being so dramatic? It's just a party," Jasper threw in, seemingly bored with the whole conversation.

"It's not just a party," Emmett and Alice pressed at the same time.

Jasper sighed at them and Edward rolled his eyes.

Rose didn't even participate in the conversation- she was just staring at her plate.

I got up.

Rose's head snapped up.

"Where are you going?"

"Need to make a few calls," I replied curtly and left the cafeteria.

I made my way to my room.

As soon as I reached it, I pulled out my phone and dialled Leah's number.

"Hey Bella, what's up?" she greeted right away.

"Do you think you can do me a favour?" I asked her.

"That depends...what do you want?"

"Can you get Chris to invite a couple more people?" I asked her slowly.

Leah stayed silent for a moment.

"Let me guess...the Cullen Clan wants to come to the party as well?"

"Exactly."

She hummed thoughtfully.

"I'll see what I can do. Just don't get your hopes up."

"I'm not. They are just getting on my nerves," I retorted.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'll try to convince Chris."

"Thank you, Leah."

"You'll owe me though," Leah warned.

I rolled my eyes at her.

"We'll see about that."

"Oh, I need to hang up now. Paul wants my attention."

"No problem. Talk to you soon."

"Yeah, sure. Bye."

She hung up quickly.

Seeing that I didn't have anything better to do, I decided to call another person.

The phone rang several times but no one picked up.

I frowned.

It seemed like my father didn't care about me to call or even pick up the phone.

I threw my phone on my bed and scowled at it.

After a few minutes of doing nothing, I grabbed my iPod and blasted the music at full volume.

I crawled up on my bed and just enjoyed the familiar sounds.

There was nothing better to do anyway.

My body was rejoicing at finally being able to lie in bed and I knew that I wouldn't get up again today.

With that knowledge, I started to drift off.

"Time to get up," Victoria sang.

I groaned and opened my eyes slowly.

"How is it that you always fall asleep early in the evening?" Victoria asked. She was currently busy rummaging through her clothes.

I yawned instead of giving her an answer. There was no real explanation for it, though it might be the fact that this place was pretty boring so between dancing and school, sleep seemed like the only interesting activity.

Thank God that it was already Friday and that I had something to do tonight at least.

I had to get some spice back into my life. Although, thinking about it- this past week had been everything but boring.

Just the fact that Edward was now my dancing partner was worth an entire week of partying.

I got out of bed and went over to the closet to find something to wear.

Grabbing a black unitard and purple tights, I left the room and made my way to the bathroom.

By now I was a pro at the daily routine here.

Freshly showered, dressed neatly and still brushing my hair, I went back to my room to get my bag.

Irina and Victoria had already left the room, so I went to the cafeteria alone.

Like always, Alice and the rest of them were already sitting there with Alice waving at me like a lunatic.

I got my breakfast and went over to sit with them. At this point it was already an old habit.

"Good morning, Bella," Alice greeted me, cheerfully.

The others grumbled their greetings as well and I mumbled something in response.

"You know, we were all worried about you when you left so abruptly yesterday," Alice said to me with a serious expression.

"I even came to visit you in your room, but you were sleeping. Did you not feel well?"

"Didn't I say that I needed to make some calls?"

"Yes, but still..."

I just shook my head at her. "I was just tired that's all. You try dancing Ballet again after a year of retirement."

Alice pulled a grimace and thankfully didn't say anything else.

Breakfast was a more or less quiet affair.

I was starting to wonder if Rosalie ever ate and whether or not Edward was mute.

How come he never said anything?

I didn't occupy my mind with these thoughts for long though, because it was time for us to get to class.

The nervousness I felt yesterday was not completely gone but it was a lot easier to ignore today.

Alice didn't rush the way she had the day before and we entered the class room with the boys together.

I stretched together with Rose and Alice, put my pointes on and was ready for class when Madam Cope entered.

I looked around in search of Edward only to find that he was already next to me.

I let out a small yelp, not expecting him to be so close.

He looked down on me with raised eyebrows. I couldn't help but notice again how truly stunning his emerald green eyes were.

Shaking my head, I turned my concentration to Madam Cope, who was already starting to give us instructions.

We had to do the exact same thing we had done yesterday.

"You ready?" Edward asked me gruffly.

He had spoken!

I probably looked at him as if he had grown a second head, because after a few seconds he started shift on his legs and asked, "What?"

Shaking my head again, I mumbled quickly, "Nothing. Let's just start."

Edward sighed and moved to stand behind me.

"Un, deux, trois," Madam Cope counted and set us all into motion.

The same electrical jolt that I had felt yesterday went through my body when Edward touched me.

Not letting it distract me, I went through the motions and was happy to realize that my movements were a lot more fluent than yesterday- despite the fact that I was still sore.

When we got to the turn, I instinctively held my breath, knowing that I would come face to face with Edward again.

I tried to avoid his eyes, but there was a difference to yesterday- he was staring right at me.

His gaze was powerful and it didn't let me look anywhere else.

I felt my knees softening.

And suddenly I was falling forward.

The spell of Edward's eyes was immediately broken when I catapulted us both to the floor.

I was lucky though, I landed on top of him.

"Shit, I'm so sorry," I gushed, scrambling to my feet right away.

What the hell just happened?

I looked around and saw that everyone had stopped moving to see what had occurred here.

Edward groaned and got up as well, shaking his head before he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"What the hell was that?" he barked at me.

I flinched.

"I said that I was sorry- no need to bitch at me."

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Are the two of you alright?" Madam Cope asked.

Edward and I were busy glaring at each other but still we both nodded.

"Good, make sure that this doesn't happen again."

Edward took a step toward me, still glaring.

"Whatever that just was, make sure it doesn't happen again," he hissed.

He stood so close to me that I could practically feel his breath on my face.

"It's not my fault," I defended myself.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "So whose fault is it? Mine? I wasn't the one who suddenly was incapable of standing."

"No, but you distracted me," I blurted out. Right after these words were spoken, I clamped a hand over my mouth.

Edward's angered expression changed to one of surprise.

He opened his mouth only to close it again.

I could feel the blush slowly creeping unto my face.

"Alright, now I want you to do this but leave out the turn. Instead the ladies will go into arabesque and then I want to see a promenade."

I quickly turned around not wanting to have Edward in front of me any longer.

Madam Cope counted us in once again and I went through the same motions as before.

I was almost happy about the fact that Madam Cope had changed the routine, that way I wouldn't have to look into Edward's eyes again. I didn't really want to have a repeat performance of that embarrassing fall.

Without thinking much about it, I went into arabesque- lifting my right leg, whilst tilting my upper body to the front.

It was weird how easy it was for me to balance my body on just one foot, until I remembered that I had Edward to hold me.

Then again, he wasn't really holding me. His hands were merely resting on my waist.

"Freeze. I want all of you to stay in that position," Madam Cope called.

I didn't turn my head to look at her; I just tilted my body a bit more forward.

"Miss Denali, you need to lift your leg and not stick it out. And Mr. Whitlock, you need to keep your arms straight otherwise you'll be of no use for your partner."

Madam Cope let out a sigh.

"Everyone please stop," she instructed.

I moved slowly to bring my leg back down.

"Everyone except Ms. Swan and Mr. Cullen," she continued.

I halted in my movement, before I got back into my earlier position.

My left leg was starting to feel a little jittery.

"Now I want you all to look at them. What do you see?"

"Her leg is too far up," I heard Tanya reply almost immediately.

"No, Ms. Denali. Her leg is exactly where it is supposed to be and Mr. Cullen is standing just the way he has to," Madam Cope corrected. "Now, Mr. Cullen, could you please do the promenade before Ms. Swan falls again."

I couldn't help but grimace at that and a few giggle went through the room.

Edward's resting hands tightened their grip, before he moved to walk in a small circle, turning me by doing so.

I got to look at everyone in the room and didn't even have to move an inch for that.

Alice smiled proudly at me and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Very nice. That is what I call a beautiful arabesque- the perfect position for a fish dive."

Madam Cope almost sounded dreamy.

As if on cue, Edward slung his arm around my waist.

I turned my head to look at him in question, just when his other arm wrapped around the thigh of my working leg.

I opened my mouth to protest, when he lifted me slightly off the ground.

Out of instinct I bend the leg that I had been standing on.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at Edward.

He turned his face to mine at the same time as he tilted me forward.

Our faces were only inches apart.

"That's a fish dive," he whispered back to me. "I noticed that you have a strong back, so I wondered if it was possible to do with you."

"You could have warned me before you invaded my personal space," I muttered.

Something strange happened then. Edward chuckled and a crooked smile placed itself on his handsome face.

I couldn't recall a time when I had seen him smile before and it was truly breathtaking.

"There is no personal space in dancing."

Madam Cope said something in the background, but I didn't hear it.

My entire attention was with Edward, who was looking at me in that intense way of his again only this time it was combined with his smirk.

Is it normal for my heart to skip a beat?

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>AN:**_**All done :) I hope you liked it... in case you were wondering: I was listening to the song by Olly Murs- My heart skips a beat. **

**Special thanks goes as always to my beta _justareaderfan. _She is amazing and saves all of you from reading the horrible unbeta'ed version :) *sends virtual flowers***

**Now... I still don't have much to say so I'm just gonna ask a few questions:**

**1) How did you like Edward and Bella together?**

**2) Anyone notice what is going on with Rose?**

**3) Should the 'Cullen Clan' get invited to the party as well? **

**Okay, that's all :) Leave me a review, it'll make my day :D**

**Lot's of love to all of you- xoxo *Star***


	10. Personal Bubble

**Good thing that I don't have to be anywhere today, otherwise this would be fatal :P**

**Anyway, since I didn't want to bother my beta this early in the morning and I also couldn't wait to update again, I just had to upload this chappie without it being beta'ed :/ Please put up with me and my millions of mistakes.**

**Enjoy reading and I'll be at the bottom :)**

* * *

><p><em>Edward Pov<em>

Emmett, Jasper and I trailed slowly to class. The girls had taken off in high speed, mainly because Alice had a hard time controlling her hyper gene.

"So... today is going to be the first time that you dance with Bella. Excited?" Emmett asked me casually.

"Just hoping that she's a lot better than Rose. Good luck with her, by the way," I responded.

Emmett grimaced.

"Seriously, you two shouldn't be so negative. You got paired up with them for a reason, so you guys have nothing worry about," Jasper said.

"Easy for you to say. You got to keep your partner," Emmett grumbled.

"I didn't know that you wanted to continue dancing with Irina. Is there something that you want to tell us?"

Emmett rolled his eyes and shoved him lightly. "Shut up."

We entered the classroom and my eyes almost immediately found Bella.

She by herself on the ground, doing stretches. I couldn't help but notice that she was rather flexible, but that was a given for any ballet dancer.

Yet, there was something different about her movements. Maybe dancing with her wouldn't be so bad.

While Jasper went over to Alice and Rose, Emmett and I got ourselves a spot in the room and started stretching as well.

We didn't talk and just continued until we saw Madam Cope enter.

"Good morning, class," she greeted us like every morning.

"Let's get this show on the road," Emmett sighed, while our classmates chorused their 'Good morning'.

Running my hand through my hair, I followed him to the center of the room.

Alice and Jasper already stood together before Madam Cope even instructed us to get positioned.

These two have been perfectly synchronized ever since the day they started dancing together.

I saw Bella looking around shortly and instead of saying anything to her, I just grabbed her by her arm and pulled her along to stand a little more at the side.

I let go of her as soon as we stood far enough from the next pair, so we wouldn't be colliding with anyone else.

I didn't look at Bella or even talked to her. There was nothing I had to say to her.

Coming to think of it, we never really talked to each other despite the fact that we had mutual friends.

I had just come to the conclusion that she hated me and I was fine with that as long as she wouldn't drag my grades down like Rosalie did.

Madam Cope stood at the front looking at each of us before she started talking," Very well. Since most of you have a new partner, we will do something a little more basic today. In fact, we will be re-starting this entire class- I hope this time I will get better results."

I groaned inwardly. I had already been annoyed with the class at the beginning of the year, because I had enough Pas de Deux experience to cover the basics and now I had to do those again.

At this rate, I was never going to get anything new out of this class. Maybe I should have just asked my mother to transfer me to another course instead of whining about having Rosalie as a partner.

"Now boys, stand behind your partner," Madam Cope instructed.

Doing as she said, I moved to stand behind Bella, leaving little distance between us.

Having her stand so close to my body was weird. I'd never stood around her for any long amount of time, so I was a bit confused by this sort of electrical hum in the space between us.

What the hell was that?

I took a step back when Madam Cope announced that the girls were doing a pirouette.

All the girls in class, immediately went into position. All except Bella. I frowned at that and noticed that her hands were shaking slightly.

Was she nervous?

Looking up at the mirror to see her face, I saw her biting her lip so I decided that she was.

I didn't understand why she was nervous though. If she is indeed an experienced dancer then this should be a piece of cake.

But apparently it wasn't.

Madam Cope counted the girls in and while all of the others spun once with grace, only Bella remained unmoving.

"Ms. Swan, why didn't I see you move?" Madam Cope demanded.

Through the mirror I saw Bella blushing slightly.

"I... uh... sorry," she stuttered, looking around the room only to cast her eyes back at the ground.

"Well, do you mind doing as I asked you to do now?"

Bella bobbed her head hastily.

I wasn't sure what to make of all of this. So far I couldn't say whether or not she was a bad dancer or not, but it was definitely certain that she had a problem with her nerves.

Madam Cope clapped her hands. "Into position."

This time Bella got into position as well and spun around just like everyone else.

Different than the others though, she seemed to have a balance problem and stumbled.

While the others giggled and chuckled at that, I ran both my hands through my hair wondering how the hell I was supposed to work with Bella Swan, if she wasn't even able to do a simple pirouette.

Her second try wasn't much better than the first and I lost all hope of having an actually decent partner.

I would probably have to support her through most of the class.

Just as the thought passed, I stepped closer to Bella. I might as well start helping her out now. There was still a tiny bit of hope left that she might just be too nervous to do it right.

"Don't look at me," I said to her, when I saw that she was about to turn around. "Just do your pirouette."

At first she didn't move and I feared that she was going to be difficult, but then she got into position again, spinning for the third time.

I brought my hands to her waist, not quite touching her. A weird electrical jolt went through my body, which made me want to pull my hands away but I refrained from doing that.

As soon as she stopped turning I rested my hands on her waist, to hold her in place. Without the stumbling her pirouette actually looked good.

"Thank you, Mr. Cullen for demonstrating the next step," Madam Cope said.

I nodded at her and let go of Bella. In the mirror I saw Bella blushing even more than she did before.

It actually looked quite adorable, but I wondered why she would be blushing in the first place. She didn't stumble this time.

I shook my head lightly. Now was hardly the time to think about that.

"I want you all to do the same now and this time I want Ms. Swan to participate."

I repeated my earlier actions when Bella spun around, earning Madam Cope's approval once more.

When she turned her attention to someone else, I saw Bella turning her head slight.

"Thanks," she muttered, her voice barely audible.

What was she thanking me for? I hadn't done anything major, except keeping her off the ground which was basically my job as her partner.

Since I didn't have a response for her, I just shrugged in answer.

"Now I want to see an _échappé _en pointe- three times and then turn and back into first position. Boys, remember not to hold on too tightly and don't turn her too hard. I don't want any injuries in class."

Processing the instructions quickly, I put my hands back on Bella's waist.

For a moment I wondered if Bella even knew what Madam Cope had just instructed her to do, but when she bend down in a plié, I tossed these thoughts aside.

She came back up in a little jump, which should have resulted in her standing on pointes, but she didn't succeed.

I didn't say anything, but when she messed it up for the second time, I couldn't help but sigh.

She might be better off with the sophomores instead of 'dancing' in this class.

"This is pretty simple, you should be able to do this," I muttered quietly. I was merely voicing my thoughts, so I didn't even intend for her to hear it.

Of course, with us standing so close to each other it was inevitable that she would.

"Well, if you weren't holding me down, I might get somewhere with this," she snapped at me.

Here we go again. This was almost like dancing with Rosalie again, only that she would have told me to do it better.

Out of reflex I wanted to reply but then thought better of it. If Bella thought she could do it better when I loosened my grip, I would do that.

If she messed it up again, I'd have the pleasure of telling her that she should train more before she came to dance with the pros.

It didn't come to that though.

On her third try she mastered the échappé flawlessly and got to the turn fairly quickly.

I didn't know if she realized that she did the little routine faster than anyone else.

When she faced me for a brief moment, I looked at her in slight surprise.

Just who exactly was this Isabella Swan?

One moment she is the worst dancer in class and the next she manages to outshine everyone in one of the most simple exercises.

"Very nice," Madam Cope approved, since she had been watching us closely.

I looked at her and she smiled knowingly at me, before she turned away.

I stepped back from Bella. Alice skipped over to us so I just went over to Jasper.

"Went pretty well for the first time, don't you think?" he asked with a grin.

I shrugged. "It could have been better," I said.

"Or worse. Do I need to remind you of your first class with Rose? You two never hit it off at any point in class."

I threw a quick look over my shoulder and saw Bella talking to Alice.

"Isn't this kind of boring for you? You and Alice already know how to work with each other."

Now it was Jasper's turn to shrug. "I don't really mind. It's probably better for Alice to repeat all this again. She tends to miss things, because she is always in such a hurry."

He looked over at her with a half smile on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Don't tell me that you have a crush on Alice?" I asked, noticing this dream-like expression on his face. He'd look the exact same way back when he still had this crush on Maria, who was one year above us.

Jasper looked back at me and looked at me in disbelief.

"No way, man. Where did you get that from?"

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Seriously, I don't have a crush on her. That would be just weird," he continued.

"If you say so..." I replied, not quite believing him.

Jasper noticed, of course.

"Come on, dude. She's almost like your sister and we've been friends for ages. I've known the little pixie ever since I started the work shops here, so it would be just weird if I were to have a crush on her- which I don't. Besides, I'm not a girl so I don't have crushes," he rambled.

"Whatever, Jazz," I waved him off.

"Alright class, you are dismissed," Madam Cope announced just then at the same moment as the bell rang.

Emmett joined us and the three of us headed toward our new class.

"So how did dancing with the Swan go?" Emmett inquired. "Apart from the starting troubles."

"It was okay. How was Rose?"

"Surprisingly good. I mean, she was a bitch, like always, but I seriously don't get what your problem was."

"Emmett, could you please refrain from calling my sister a bitch," Jasper complained, just as we walked into the class of Mr. Banner.

"I'm just stating a fact. It's hardly my fault that she is one," Emmett retorted.

"Hey Em, did you know that Jasper has a crush on Alice," I barged into their conversation, smiling smugly at Jasper.

"What? Seriously? You and the little squirt?"Emmett boomed right away, calling the attention of a few classmates to us.

"Fuck you, Eddie," Jasper said to me with a glare. "And you could just once try to speak at normal volumes, Em."

"So it's true then, huh?" Emmett pressed.

"No, it's not. Edward just made that shit up."

Emmett turned to look at me and we both grinned.

"Getting a little too defensive, don't we?" I teased Jasper.

Jasper glowered at me, but didn't say anything.

"We should tell Alice, she'd get a kick out of that," Emmett said.

"No one is telling anyone anything," Jasper hissed and shoved Emmett away.

Emmett just laughed at that. "Why not? The pixie has been in love with you for ages."

Both Jasper and I whipped our heads around to look at Emmett. "What?"

Emmett looked at us in surprise.

"What, you guys didn't know? It's pretty obvious if you ask me."

"How so?" Jasper asked him, sounding a bit excited.

Emmett and I exchanged a look but didn't say anything about that.

Instead Emmett ticked off a list, "She hates Maria. You should see how she glares at the girl every time they cross paths. Then there is also the fact that she sits next to Jasper, when we eat, most of the time. And she laughs at all of your jokes and sometimes she calls you Jazzy. Not to forget that she always asks where you are whenever you are not around."

"That doesn't prove anything," Jasper said, but looked thoughtful anyway.

"Positions," Mr. Banner called right away when he entered the room.

All of the conversations in the room ended and we got into positions.

During the entire class, Jasper made a slightly unfocused impression.

He stayed like that for most of the Classical Ballet as well until it was time for us to head to lunch.

Normally, we met up with Emmett on the way, since he was in another course, but he wasn't to be found anywhere.

Jasper and I got our trays with food and went over to the table where the girls sat.

I didn't get why we always had to sit with them, but I didn't say anything.

When we approached the table I heard Rose asking, "We're not taking the boys with us, are we?"

Jasper seemed to have heard it as well because he instantly wanted to know what they had planned.

"Shopping," Alice answered him with a wide grin.

I knew for a fact that she was lying, but didn't say anything. She knew that none of us boys ever wanted to accompany them on their shopping trips, so she used that excuse whenever she didn't want us to tag along.

"I don't think that I have time for that today," Jasper claimed, obviously buying the lie. "Take Edward with you."

"I'm busy," I said lamely, not really having to come up with a excuse since I knew they weren't going shopping.

"Too bad," Alice pouted but quickly resumed eating.

"Hey guys, guess what is going to be the event of this week end?" Emmett's voice boomed as he neared the table.

"You learning to speak at normal volumes?" Rosalie guessed sarcastically. If only that was going to happen.

"Nope," Emmett responded, barely paying attention to her.

"What is it? Twinkle-town musical is coming to town?" Bella asked him.

"No, but that would be pretty nice," Emmett mused, probably just humoring her. "Anyway, it's a party. The Venturas are out of town."

I rolled my eyes at that. Leave it to Emmett to be excited about something that he wouldn't even take part in.

"And why would we care about that?" Rosalie asked, sounding bored.

"Err... because every time the Venturas are out of town, their kid throws the most amazing parties?" "And to how many of those parties were you invited?" Jasper inquired further.

Emmett's enthusiasm faded and he looked down. "None," he replied quietly.

"Well that's settled then," Alice commented. "So what are we going to do this week end?""Wait, wait, wait," Bella interfered. "So someone in this town throws the best parties and you're not going?"

She seemed to be genuinely confused about this.

Alice let out a sigh. "It's not like we don't want to, but we won't get into the house. They only let people with invitations in- which would be the whole town, except for the people at the Academy."

Alice had gotten upset about that on several occasions.

"I take it that this person is not a student here?"

"Umm... no."

"Can't we just go there anyway? There has to be a back door or something."

Jasper and I exchanged a look at that, both of us probably somewhat surprised that she would even suggest sneaking in through a non-existent back door.

"It's not that simple. The Venturas live a little outside of town. Do you know why?" Rose continued speaking instead of Alice.

Of course, Bella shook her head.

"Their house is too big to actually fit into this town. It's the biggest mansion around here. There are about three unnecessarily big buildings around here. One is the Academy, which is actually very necessary because it's a school. The other is the Cullen House and of course the Ventura Mansion. We are already privileged to have access to two of these houses."

"So we can't crash the party?" Bella asked, sounding almost disappointed.

"Only if partying with the security guards is what you had in mind."

A frown placed itself on her pretty face and she let the topic go.

She didn't participate in the following discussion about what we were doing this week end.

Judging by her facial expression, she wasn't very impressed with our plan to have movie marathon at my parent's house.

Who knew what she used to do for fun on the week end before she came to Forks. Seeing that she was now here as a punishment, it was safe to assume that she spent a lot of time sneaking in through back doors.

The afternoon classes passed relatively fast. Bella looked like she was in pain when I saw her, which was only to be expected after an entire day of dancing without having the same kind of practice the rest of us had.

When I got to my room, Emmett was already there with his music on full blast.

I turned the stereo down when I passed it and then proceeded to walk to my closet.

"Eddie, you really need to learn to value good music," Emmett said.

I didn't reply to that. What he classified as music, only sounded like unnecessary noise to me.

I quickly changed out of my dancing gear and put on a pair of jeans and a shirt.

"Where's Jasper?" I asked Emmett.

"He left with Peter," Emmett replied. "I'm really starting to think that the kid needs a girlfriend. His back yard parties with Peter are not helping him with his dancing."

"What do you mean?"

I had always known that Peter was not actually the kind of person that Jasper should hang out with, especially since he wasn't even going to school here, but Emmett just made it sound as if the two of them were up to something.

"You don't know? Jeez Eddie, you really need to get out of your own personal bubble, you hardly notice anything going on around you."

I looked at Emmett with furrowed brows.

Emmett just shook his head.

"If you were to pay more attention to your friends, you might actually notice a thing or two."

"I do pay attention. After all, I noticed that Jasper has a crush on Alice," I defended myself.

Emmett got off his bed and clapped me on the back.

"But you miss a lot of other things."

With those cryptic words, he left the room.

I seriously had no idea what he was talking about.

Emmett peeked back into the room. "You could come with me, you know," he told me.

"Where are you going?"

"Felix, Demetri and I want to try to get on the roof."

"On the roof?" I repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah, Jackson swears that he once took Ashley up there and we want to find out how to get up there."

"Well, good luck with that. I don't think that I'm up for any suicidal missions."

Emmett mumbled something like 'boring bastard' and left the room.

Since I now had absolutely nothing to do, I decided to pass my time in one of the music rooms again.

I played almost every song that I knew and my mom once walked in to chastised me for sneaking in but then told me to continue playing, while she sat there and listened.

When it was time for dinner, she shooed me out claiming that I have to get my fix of social activities.

Once again I found myself at a table with the whole group, including Bella.

When Alice let slip that Bella had been invited to the party, Emmett was once again using the full spectrum of his voice.

"_You _are invited to the party?"

A few people turned to look at him, by the sound of his booming voice but quickly returned their attention to their own things. Everyone was used to Emmett's outbursts by now.

"Yes," Bella sighed, pushing her plate away. She had barely even touched her food.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Rose staring at her plate, not eating either.

Was this some new trend amongst the girls?

Couldn't be, because Alice was eating.

"How come that you are invited?" Emmett pried.

"I've got connections."

"No academy student is ever invited to that party- you are the only one," Emmett stated.

"Not the only one. Leah is invited as well."

"Emmett could you stop being so dramatic? It's just a party," Jasper threw in, seemingly bored with the whole conversation.

"It's not just a party," Emmett and Alice uttered at the same time.

I heard Jasper sigh, while I rolled my eyes at them.

By now, they should be over the fact that they would not be going.

Bella got up, which called Rosalie's attention for the first time.

"Where are you going?"

"Need to make a few calls," Bella stated curtly and then left.

"Now what was that about?" Emmett mumbled.

All of us shrugged.

"Maybe she calls Leah and asks her if we can go to the party as well," Alice gushed excitedly.

"Dream on, Al," Rosalie snorted.

Alice pulled a grimace at the use of one of her nicknames.

"Maybe she just wants to call her friends or her Dad...who knows?" Jasper said offhandedly.

Rose, who had finally decided to take a few bites of her food, only shrugged. Then all of a sudden, her expression fell and she quickly got up and practically ran out of the cafeteria.

"I'm guessing that none of you can explain that either," Emmett mused.

"Umm... no," Jasper said slowly.

Alice looked a bit confused by Rosalie's departure, but didn't say anything.

We continued eating and parted ways a couple of minutes later.

Back in our room, I fell on my bed and pulled out a book to read- which proved to be quite the difficult task with Emmett doing push-ups in the middle of the room.

He couldn't do that without music.

Jasper was complaining about his music being to hasty and that he needed something more 'chillaxing'.

The rest of the evening was quite uneventful and we went to sleep at the same time we always did.

The next day at breakfast was just like every other time all of us sat together. The others were talking, while I mainly just listened.

"You know, we were all worried about you when you left so abruptly yesterday," Alice informed Bella, referring to the previous evening.

"I even came to visit you in your room, but you were sleeping. Did you not feel well?"

"Didn't I say that I needed to make some calls?"

"Yes, but still..."

Bella just shook her head. "I was just tired that's all. You try dancing Ballet again after a year of retirement."

After that we all stayed more or less quiet. Emmett was too busy scarfing his sandwiches down to be actually speaking. Jasper was looking into space in an almost dream-like manner; Alice was writing something in one of her notebooks, which I assumed to be homework.

Bella just seemed to be concentrating on eating, occasionally looking at something in the room.

And Rose was doing what she had been doing for the past days- picking at her food, only taking a bite occasionally.

When it was time for class we all left the table together and made our way to the studio.

Alice didn't seem to be as hyper as she had been the day before. It was actually quite refreshing to have a quiet morning for once.

Like always, we did our stretches before class until Madam Cope entered the room.

I went over to Bella, who looked around as if she was looking for something.

When she saw me standing beside me, she let out a startled little yelp.

I looked at her with raised eyebrows, slightly amused.

She just shook her head and turned to look at Madam Cope, who was already starting to give instructions.

Basically, we were repeating the routine we had to do yesterday.

"You ready?" I asked Bella.

She stared back at me with wide eyes, a mixture of awe and surprise on her face.

What the hell?

When she didn't stop staring, I started to get uncomfortable. She had pretty intense eyes. It was almost as if she was trying to look into my soul.

"What?" I asked self-consciously.

She flinched slightly and then shook her head again, as if she was trying to clear it.

"Nothing. Let's just start."

I sighed, not getting what this was about.

Standing behind her, I waited for Madam Cope's signal.

Bella moved right on time just as fast as she did yesterday. But there was a difference to her movements. They were more fluent- or rather more graceful.

When she turned around and faced me, I looked right at her.

It wasn't even on purpose- my eyes just snapped up to meet her on their own accord.

I had never noticed the unusual depth in her eyes, it was almost scary to have her looking back at me.

It actually made me loosen my grip on her and I probably would have taken a step back if it weren't for the fact that Bella started to fall toward me.

Without having the time to react, I was pushed to the ground.

The impact of hitting the ground was quite unpleasant and it wasn't much better that Bella's weight came down on me as well.

A grunt escaped me, when the air left my lungs for a moment.

Bella immediately scrambled to her feet.

"Shit, I'm so sorry,"she apologized frantically.

With a groan, I sat up and then slowly started to get back on my feet as well.

"What the hell was that?" I barked at her. So far it never happened to me that I landed on the ground because of my dancing partner. Not even Rosalie had accomplished that.

Bella flinched and I immediately felt bad for yelling at her.

"I said that I was sorry- no need to bitch at me," she snapped back.

The guilty feelings were gone almost instantly and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Are the two of you alright?" Madam Cope asked.

I was still glaring at Bella but nodded anyway.

"Good, make sure that this doesn't happen again."

Knowing that we had to continue with the lesson, I stepped closer to Bella again. I didn't stop glaring at her though, since she did a pretty good job of glaring back at me.

"Whatever that just was, make sure it doesn't happen again," I hissed at her.

"It's not my fault," she retorted.

Cocking an eyebrow at her, I asked, "So who's fault is it? Mine? I wasn't the one who suddenly was incapable of standing."

"No, but you distracted me." She spoke fast, almost making me miss the words.

I distracted her? I didn't even do anything, so how should I have distracted her. All I did was look at her and that couldn't possibly have distracted her.

I was vaguely aware of my mouth opening and close, like I was some kind of fish.

The blush that spread on Bella's cheeks put an end to that, though. I didn't understand why she would be blushing. Coming to think of it... I only ever saw her blush when yesterday during class.

Other than that I don't recall her blushing ever before. It didn't suit her confidant exterior anyway.

Maybe I was the cause of all that blushing. But that was a ridiculous thought. I discarded it right away and payed attention to Madam Cope's words.

"Alright, now I want you to do this but leave out the turn. Instead the ladies will go into arabesque and then I want to see a promenade."

Bella turned back to face the front and got into position. At the count of three she went through the motions once again, in the same fluent manner as before.

I was already fearing a disaster when she went into the arabesque and prepared myself to catch her, but nothing happened.

Quite the contrary, Bella moved her leg up and tilted forward so gracefully that I forgot all about keeping a firm grip on her.

Her body tension was remarkable. I couldn't help but let my eyes trail over her whole body, admiring the beauty in that posture.

"Freeze. I want all of you to stay in that position," Madam Cope called.

I felt how Bella tilted her body a bit more. I adjusted my hands lightly in case she wouldn't be able to hold the pose for long.

"Miss Denali, you need to lift your leg and not stick it out. And Mr. Whitlock, you need to keep your arms straight otherwise you'll be of no use for your partner."

Madam Cope sighed in exasperation.

"Everyone please stop," she instructed.

Bella started to move back up, but was stopped by Madam Cope.

"Everyone except Ms. Swan and Mr. Cullen."

That didn't really surprise me. Bella's arabesque was next to perfect, so it was only to be expected that Madam Cope would use her as an example.

"Now I want you all to look at them. What do you see?"

"Her leg is too far up," Tanya replied almost immediately.

"No, Ms. Denali. Her leg is exactly where it is supposed to be and Mr. Cullen is standing just the way he has to," Madam Cope corrected. "Now, Mr. Cullen, could you please do the promenade before Ms. Swan falls again."

I grinned slightly at the references to the earlier incident.

Holding Bella a little tighter, I started to walk in a small circle. I payed special attention not to mess with Bella's balance while I turned her and she was being very helpful by not even moving a muscle.

"Very nice. That is what I call a beautiful arabesque- the perfect position for a fish dive."

She looked at me with a small smile, probably remembering the one time in the summer workshop last year when I performed that lift perfectly.

Looking at Bella, I knew that it would be easy to do the lift with her. She wasn't as flaily as Rosalie.

I slung my arms around her waist.

Bella turned her head in my direction, just when I wrapped my other arm around the thigh of her working leg. I wasn't sure if I was only imagining it but her body seemed t heat up slightly.

I lifted her off the ground and was happy to see that Bella bend her leg right away. If I didn't know I any better, I would have said that she has been in this for years rather than two days.

"What are you doing?" she hissed at me, being as friendly as she always was.

It didn't deter me though.

I turned my face toward her and tilted her forward, completing the fish dive.

"That's a fish dive," I whispered back to her."I noticed that you have a strong back, so I wondered if it was possible to do with you."

"You could have warned me before you invaded my personal space," I responded, her sweet breath fanning my face.

She didn't sound particularly upset and I smiled at her words.

"There is no personal space in dancing."

Bella's breath caught, which I found to be quite interesting.

Could it be that I was having some kind if effect on her?

That would explain the blushing and the falling.

While Madam Cope spoke in the background, I looked at Bella closely.

I had already established that she was pretty, but I decided in that moment that she was in fact beautiful.

My eyes went to her mouth when she spoke. Plump lips with a beautiful, light pink color.

"Could you please put me back on the ground?" she requested, her voice soft.

Pulling myself out of ma momentarily daze, I nodded and moved back so she could set her foot down in an arabesque again.

I let her go and she got off of her platforms, looking around the room to see everyone staring at us.

"Thank you Mr. Cullen and Ms. Swan for this beautiful demonstration," Madam Cope said, clapping lightly, before she instructed for the whole class to try the earlier routine again.

Bella and I had to participate, which started to get boring since both of us had no problems with it.

Eventually, the bell rang and Madam Cope dismissed us.

"Dude, that was just awesome. You and the little Swan look amazing together," Emmett said to me, once we were on the way to our next class.

"The chemistry between you two is almost insane. For a moment I actually thought you were going to kiss her," Jasper added.

"Don't be ridiculous," I said dismissively. "As if I was ever going to kiss _her_."

"I just said it looked like...wait... you're kind of defensive," Jasper noted.

"Ooohhh," Emmett added, "You like the little Swan."

I looked at them both with an unmoving face.

"I don't think so," I replied dryly.

That sobered the two of them up.

Throughout the day I heard my performance with Bella being mentioned every now and then. Apparently, we had indeed a good chemistry.

When Jasper and I went to get our food for lunch, we actually heard a few girls saying that I would probably be dancing with Bella at the showcase.

Emmett and the girls were already sitting at the table.

"Jazz! Eddie!" Emmett called, despite the fact that we were almost at the table and could have easily heard him.

"What, Emmett?" I sighed, sensing that he about to say something that didn't interest me even in the slightest.

"Bella, Rose and Alice are going to the party without us," he whined.

Bella and Rosalie rolled their eyes at his antics.

"Seriously, Emmett. Stop crying like you're some kind of giant baby and get over it," Bella said.

"Easy for you to say, you are invited," Emmett retorted.

"How did you two get invited as well?" I asked mainly Alice, but looked at Rosalie as well.

"Bella pulled some strings for us," Alice squealed.

"Only for the two of you? I'm hurt, Bella," Jasper mocked.

"I asked Leah if she could arrange for all of you to come, but Chris wasn't having any of that. She said I could only take two people with me, because she didn't want her party to be flooded with a bunch of prude Academy kids. Her words, not mine," Bella explained swiftly.

"And of course, she chose us," Alice concluded.

Bella looked at her in annoyance.

"I didn't choose you. You just decided that you and Rose would tag along," she corrected.

Alice waved her off and started talking about what she wanted to wear.

"I should wear that dress, I wore last year at the show case," she gushed.

"Alice, have you ever been to these kind of parties?" Rosalie asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, have you ever been at a party hosted by a teenager, who is using the time without their parents."

Alice thought about it for a moment. I already knew the answer.

"No, I don't think so."

"Are you for real?" Bella asked her, sounding surprised.

Alice shrugged. "My parents travel a lot so I spent most of my time here in Forks and there is not much going on here. Especially not when you're an Academy student."

"Well, you don't wear long evening gowns to these." Rosalie shook her head at Alice.

"I guess, we have to get ready together. This sounds like a disaster in the making," Bella muttered waving her hand at Alice.

After lunch my day took on it's regular for- a blur.

Nothing interesting happened and I wondered if my had always been like purgatory.

After school, Emmett and I went to the Gym. He spent most of his time lifting weights- I joined him for a while, but soon I couldn't keep up with him anymore and got on the treadmill instead.

Jasper joined us at some point, but didn't actually work out.

He was content with just watching us, although it seemed to me like he was actually day-dreaming again.

Dinner was spent with Alice annoying the crap out of all of us, because she just couldn't shut up about that stupid party.

I was very grateful when Bella pulled her along to start getting ready.

Emmett, Jasper and I decided to stick to the original plan to spent the night at my parents' house, so we all jumped into my car and drove over to the house.

I was quite the waste that I barely even used my car and when I did, mainly for short distances like driving to the house.

Neither Mom nor Dad were at home, which wasn't much of a surprise.

Emmett and Jasper set up my room for the Game-athon followed by a bunch of action movies, while I tried to hunt down some snacks in the kitchen.

Soon, all of us were settled in front of the TV, torturing the PlayStation and damaging our eye sight.

By the time Emmett made us watch 'Cop Out', I had a serious headache and was already half asleep on the couch.

For some reason though, I stayed awake and managed to watch the first two movies of the Bourne series. When the second movie was over, I noticed that Jasper had fallen asleep on the arm chair and Emmett was snoring loudly on the floor.

I guess that was the end of the movie marathon.

I got off the couch with a yawn and wanted to head to the bathroom to get ready to sleep, but I was interrupted by the shrill ring of my phone.

I had to search through the mess of trash that we had created before I could take the call. Looking briefly at the caller ID, I saw that it was Alice.

For a moment, I heard nothing but loud music and even louder voices.

Then I heard Alice squeal.

"Alice?" I called into the phone, not sure if she would hear me.

"Edward," she screamed in delight. "Why did you call?"

Her words were slurred and she hiccuped a few times.

"I didn't, you were the one who called me. What is going on?"

"Oh nothing. I'm having a lot of fun and I think, I might be in love," she told me, still slurring the words.

Judging by that, I came to the conclusion that she was drunk.

"Alice..." I started, but she interrupted me.

"There is Bella. Edward, I need to hang up. I want to dance with her."

I wanted to protest, but was cut off once more.

This time it wasn't Alice though.

"Edward?" I heard Bella's voice. "Is that you?"

"Yes, would you mind telling me what's going on?"

"Umm... Alice apparently drunk dialed you," she explained.

"She is not even supposed to be drunk. None of you are," I ranted, "You are all under-"

"Yeah, yeah. Could you save that speech for some time later, please. I really have bigger problems right now than dealing with your parental antics," Bella said and then hissed something at someone else, "Where the fuck is Alice? I told you not to let her out of your sight."

"I didn't let her out of my sight. She went into the kitchen," I heard someone respond.

Bella let out something that sounded like an enraged scream and then she got back on the phone.

"Well, I have to stop your cousin from poisoning herself and then I need to check up on Rose, who was puking her guts out a few minutes ago. I have a lot of shit to deal with right now, so bye," she said hastily.

"Wait!" I all but yelled, before she could hang up on me.

"What? I don't have time for you right now," she snapped.

"I'm coming to pick you up, I'll be there in five minutes," I told her and started to go downstairs.

Bella stayed quiet for a moment.

"Okay, I'll get the girls," she then replied and hang up.

I quickly threw on my shoes and grabbed my car keys.

My parents were most likely sleeping by now, so I didn't see the sense in telling them where I was going.

I got into my car and pulled out of our driveway to race through the streets, wanting to get to the Ventura residence as fast as possible.

Once I came closer to the front gates of the property, I heard the loud music coming from the house.

I parked the car in front of the gate and got out of the car to look for the girls.

"Are you invited to this party, kid?"

A huge guy walked up to me, looking at me in question.

"I...uh..."

"He's here to pick us up," I heard Bella say.

I turned around to find her with Alice and Rose- both of them leaning on Bella's shoulder for support.

"Edward," Alice screeched in delight and let go of Bella to stumble toward me.

I caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Whoops, I'm so clumsy," she slurred and then hugged me. "I love you, Eddie."

I was a bit at loss what to do but Bella just waved it off.

"She's been like that for a while now. The good thing is that she didn't start puking yet, so she should be good."

She threw a doubting look at Rosalie, who looked more like she was unconscious.

"I'm not so sure about her though."

"Alright, let's get them in the car," I said and picked Alice up with ease.

It took me various minutes to maneuver the little person into the back seat but eventually I succeeded, while Bella managed to get Rosalie in.

Then we both got in the car as well and I started the way back home.

This time I drove much slower, fearing that the two girls in the back seat might puke.

Bella leaned back in her seat, looking tired.

"How come you are not in such a bad shape?" I asked her, gesturing toward the back.

Bella cast a quick look at the other two before she responded.

"I'm not sober either if that is what you are asking. I'm just better at handling my liquor, which is not that hard. Alice was a first timer and Rose didn't eat. Anyone at that party is in better shape than those two."

I looked briefly at Bella and frowned.

"You shouldn't even be drinking."

"Oh please, who gives a shit about that?"

"I do."

"You also seem to be having a hard time with having fun. Do you even know what that is?"

My grip on the steering wheel tightened and my frown deepened.

"Of course, I know what fun is," I answered, getting irritated with her.

"Really? What do you do for fun?"

"Today, I spent the entire night with Jasper and Emmett, watching movies."

"And other than that? What do you do every other day of the week?"

I actually had to think about that for a moment. I knew that I didn't do much outside of school, but I still had fun every now and then...

"You're taking too long to answer," Bella noted dryly.

"I dance," I blurted out.

She giggled at that, which made me look at her.

Only then I actually noticed the way she looked. Her her was flowing over shoulder in small waves, framing her face.

She wore a make up, but not very much- it actually looked very good on her.

Her blue top only had a halter on the right side, which left her left shoulder bare.

She had beautiful cream-colored skin, that went along great with her top- or rather the other way around.

She basically looked stunning and I wondered how I could have labeled her with an unfitting word like 'beautiful' earlier today.

"Aren't you worried that you are a little too obsessed with dancing?" she asked, looking up at me.

I immediately returned my gaze to the road. I shouldn't have looked away in the first place.

"I'm not obsessed; I'm disciplined. The chances of becoming a professional dancer after our education at the Academy are very slim, so I have to make sure to spent as much time as possible with dancing. I want to be able to dance for living," I explained.

"Why?"

I looked briefly at Bella, slightly confused.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to be able to dance for living?" she expanded.

Only someone, who wasn't an actual dancer would ask a question like that.

I waited for Alice and Rosalie to start explaining to her that this was what every Ballet dancer wanted, but the soft snores on the back seat told me that they would not be talking any time soon.

"I've been training for it my entire life, that's why," I answered.

While I pulled up to the driveway of my house, I saw Bella shake her head.

"What? Did you never hear of dedication?" I mocked.

I turned of the engine.

Bella turned to look at me with her doe-like, brown eyes.

"It's not that. I just think that you shouldn't lose the love for dance on the way to become a professional. What's the use of reaching your goal, if you don't have any real passion for it?"

She spoke softly, looking at me in a strangely intense way. Then she seemed to snap out of whatever it was she was in.

"Besides, the Ballet business is a bitch. They'll try to break you even before you step foot in it," she added with a smirk and then threw a quick look at the back before she got out of the car.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**___**All done! I hope that you liked the chapter despite the fact that it was mainly a repeat of last chapter's event just in Eddie's point of view. I had some serious troubles with getting into his head...**

**By the way, it was really hard to compromise in this chapter. The last time I asked if you thought the Cullens (and friends) should get to enjoy the party as well and the opinions were kind of all over the place... So I had to kind of work with what I was given and it resulted in a drunk Alice and an even drunker Rose ( i know that the word 'drunker' doesn't actually exist) I hope that you don't hate me for that or anything of the sort. **

**In the next chapter I will write all about the party and then there will be more dancing and who knows what else... if you have any ideas, feel free to pitch them to me... I'll see if I can work with it.**

**Also, I'm very flattered by the compliments I've gotten :) I'm glad that the dancing that is part of this story can be classified as well-informed, because in reality I don't have much to do with dancing. Well, I'm a big fan of street dance and I know a few dancers and I might be able to bust a couple of moves, but I have absolutely no clue when it comes to Ballet. I'm just watching as many vids as possible and read lots of stuff so I can write about it in a decent manner.**

**It's good to know that hte effort is worth it :D**

**Okay, now I ran out of words so I'm going to stop rambling at this point.**

**Please leave me looooots of pretty reviews- I get excited like a little kid on Christmas when I see them ;)**

**Love you all**

**xoxo**

**~*Star*~ **


	11. Let's get this Party started

_**A/N:**_** Another update, yay! It only took like forever but hey- it's finally there and hopefully not the last of this year. It would be a shame for the world to end without you knowing how this story continues :D**

**Special thanks to justareaderfan, who works at high speed- quite the contrary to me- and makes reading this a lot more bearable for you :)**

**So here is the next chapter for you:**

* * *

><p>Bella Pov<p>

I ran a hand through my hair one last time and grinned slightly at my reflection.

I was all ready to go and party it up. My friends were kind of missing in this scenario and I really wished I could just call Zafrina and Felix to tag along.

Instead, Leah had just called a few minutes prior to let me know that she and Sam would come to pick us up. At least I had them around, because I couldn't quite imagine being at a party with Rose and Alice.

Now all that was left to do was wait. In that exact moment the door to my bedroom opened.

Alice ran right in, looking a bit overworked.

"I don't know what to wear," she whined loudly.

Her sudden appearance startled me a bit. When I had pushed her into her room to get ready, I didn't expect her to come to my room and cry how she couldn't do it.

"Umm..." was all I managed to say, because Alice had taken just mere seconds to scan my outfit and then grab my arm to pull me along.

"Come on, you'll help me find something to wear," she insisted and dragged me out of the room.

"What the-"

"You look really gorgeous, by the way. And you just gave me an idea of what to wear at this party. Oh gosh, I'm so excited."

She didn't even take a breath while talking.

While I was thinking about the existence of mutant lungs, Alice had successfully dragged me to her room.

Inside we found Rosalie in front of the dresser.

"All done," Rose announced and turned around for us to see.

I took her in with raised brows.

She wore one of those impossibly short mini-skirts with a white and a red halter top. That combined with the big backcombed mess of hair and the insane amount of make-up did make her look good, but...

"You kinda look like a hooker," Alice and I remarked at the same time.

At least I wasn't the only one who thought that.

"Jinx," Alice squealed, punching my arm slightly.

I looked down on the little pixie and shook my head slowly.

"No, Alice. Just...no. If you ever intend to speak to me again, don't do that kind of shit."

Alice shrugged, but nodded anyway.

"So, I don't look good?" Rose asked, actually sounding kind of heartbroken.

I briefly wondered how the fuck I got stuck with those two, but dismissed it quickly.

"You do, but you also look like twenty bucks a fuck. No offense," I assured her. Although, I didn't think that it was very reassuring.

"But Jane said that dressing like this would get the most male attention. I learned this stupid hair thing from her."

"Who is Jane?"

"Jane is her cousin," Alice replied, who was now half-way in her closet.

"Well," I started slowly, "Your cousin does have a point, but just look at yourself. Your outfit doesn't provide any space to stash your dignity in. Move a little too much and anyone can just dip their fingers in that Honey Pot of yours."

"Eww, gross," Alice remarked from somewhere in the pile of clothes she has created.

Rose sighed and took me in properly.

"You look good, so I'm right to assume I should go with a more casual look?"

"I highly advise it."

Seeing that we were not going to some club and I intended to be able to move, I just chose my favourite halter top and a pair of jeans shorts.

The only thing I didn't get to choose yet was the shoes. Mainly because Alice just randomly appeared and made me go with her.

"You can leave that top on though. I like it," I added.

Rose nodded and went over to the pile of clothes Alice had created.

The little pixie was now all the way in the closet, throwing things out like a teen girl on a fashion rampage.

Searching through the pile quickly, Rose found a pair of black pants and put them on without hesitation.

Seeing her underwear really relieved me that she chose to take my advice and not wear that poor excuse of a skirt.

That nearly non-existent piece of lace would have made every male – and a few females – want to go on a free ride.

I wasn't sure if those tight pants changed anything about that effect, but at least it was now due to the curves she was rocking and not the easily granted entrance.

I helped Rose get her hair back in shape while she wiped off most of her make-up.

In the end we had created a monster. A hot and not so slutty-looking monster.

I was pretty impressed with my hair-styling skills, seeing how that wasn't really my thing.

Meanwhile, Alice had stepped out of the depths of her closet – which shouldn't even have that much space in it seeing that it was the same as the one that stood in my room – and looked quite impressive for someone who had never attended a decent party in her life.

She wore a cute and short green dress with a top-layer of lace and a black band beneath her bust line that formed a little bow on her back.

Both Rose and I applauded her when she showed her dress of, which made her grin happily.

"Err...Bella, shouldn't you be wearing shoes?" Rose asked me when Alice started to get her make-up done.

I looked down at my feet.

"Umm yes, I should," I agreed.

"Just hold on a second," she said and opened the other side of the closet that had been closed thus far.

It was completely stacked with shoes.

She grabbed two pairs and closed it again.

"There you go," she beamed, handing me a pair of blue flats.

Thanking her, I put them on while she quickly slipped on the pumps she had chosen for herself.

I was quite happy she hadn't expected me to run about the place in something like that.

Settling ourselves down on one of the beds, we both waited for Alice.

"Why don't you guys have a third roommate?" I asked then, after noticing that there were only two beds in this room.

"Oh, I begged my mom to get me a room for myself when I decided to stay at the Academy. She said she couldn't do that and we had a very long discussion about it. In the end we made a compromise, which resulted in me just having one roommate. End of story," Alice explained swiftly.

For some reason that story didn't really surprise me.

Just then my phone started ringing, so I fished it out of my pocket.

"We'll be there in five minutes, so get ready and come out," Leah yelled on the other end, not even letting me say anything.

"Err..."

"See ya in a few."

With that she ended the call, leaving me a bit stunned.

"That was not weird at all," I mumbled to myself and shoved the phone back into my pocket.

"What was that?" Rose asked, looking a bit confused.

"That was Leah telling us to be ready and out in five minutes – which basically means that you need to hurry up, Alice."

"Almost done, almost done," Alice muttered, too concentrated on painting her face.

I sighed and leaned back, praying for those five minutes to end quickly.

"All done," Alice eventually announced, earning relieved sounds from both Rose and I.

"Well then, we better go and rock this party," I announced more excitedly than I would have expected from myself.

"Yay," Alice cheered in response, while she slipped on a pair of flats as well.

All done and ready to party, we left the room to get to the parking lot.

Walking through the corridors, we earned a couple of appreciative gazes – although I was pretty sure that most of them were directed at Rose.

"Damn," I heard a booming voice exclaim, just before we reached the front door.

I didn't really need to turn around to know that it was Emmett. No one else was this loud... apart from Alice.

"You guys look hot – even you don't look like an Ice Queen, Rose," he continued, studying our appearances with a satisfied nod.

Jasper stood next to him, smiling at all of us.

"Hmpf," was Rose's response to Emmett's remark, while Alice and I showed some manners and thanked him.

"Think of us when you're tearing down that place, okay?" Emmett joked.

"Will do," I promised. "If you get really lucky, one of us will drunk dial you."

"Drunk? There is going to be alcohol?" Alice screeched at the top of her lungs.

A few people passing through the main hall looked up at that.

"Not if you keep screaming like that," I sighed.

"Jeez, Alice. Get a grip," Rose added and shook her head.

"But – none of us is legal yet. And didn't you know that alcohol-"

The blaring sound of a car honk cut her off before I got around to it.

"That'll be our ride," I told them and made a move for the door.

Alice caught my hand and pulled me back.

"What?"

"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with-"

"For Christ's sake, nobody will force you to do anything. If you want to drink water or coke, just do it. It's not going to be the end of the world," I complained.

The evening hadn't even really begun and I was already starting to regret taking those two clowns with me.

"Stop nagging, Alice. Keep going like this and Bella will never take us anywhere again," Rose remarked.

"Wow, the love between the three of you is just astonishing. Have fun, girls."

Emmett and Jasper were walking up the stairs, waving and smiling.

Shaking my head, I opened the door and stepped outside.

"Bella!" I heard Leah shout.

I quickly scanned the parking lot and found the car – mainly because Leah was sitting on top of it.

"Ready to get your funk on?" she asked as we approached the car.

"Why are you up there?" Rose asked her with raised eye brows.

"Can't smoke in the car," she replied, waving the lit cigarette at her.

"Hey Bella. Who are your friends?"

The window on the passenger's side came down and Emily stuck her head out, smiling gently at us.

"Err..." I started but was cut off by Leah.

"Those are Rosalinda and Alicia, Emily. You gotta listen more carefully when I tell you things. I told you Bella is taking them along."

"You're the one who needs to listen better," I sighed. "Their names are Rosalie and Alice."

"Well, that's what I said."

"Just a random question, but how are we all going to fit into that car?" Rose piped up.

Seeing that Emily was in the car as well, her concerns were validated.

"Alice is so tiny, she'll barely take up any space," I told her jokingly.

Leah snorted at that and even Alice let out a little giggle.

Rose on the other hand looked at Alice with a dark expression.

Luckily, the little pixie didn't notice. That look would have given her nightmares for days. What was that about?

"I'll just take the little thing on my lap," Leah volunteered and hopped down from the car, as graceful as you would expect from a ballerina.

"Let's go then," Alice cheered.

Both she and Leah scrambled into the car immediately.

I cast another look at Rose, who as now busily staring at the ground.

"Are you alright, Rose?" I asked her, starting to get concerned about her sudden attitude change.

Apparently, I pulled her out of her though, because she suddenly looked up at me with a startled expression.

"Come on, we don't wanna stay here all night," I encouraged her. Maybe I should ask her what was bothering her at some other time. It wasn't like I could solve any problems right now and even so...why do I even care about her problems?

"Right," Rose agreed and forced a smile on her face.

Casting another worried look at her, I climbed into the car as well.

A few seconds later, we all sat comfortably in the car.

Sam turned around in the driver's seat looking a tiny bit troubled.

"What's wrong with you, Sam?" I asked him.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering how I got stuck with a car full of girls."

"Lots of guys would love to be in your place right now," Leah remarked.

"Not with you in the car," Sam mumbled in response and turned the key in the ignition.

Leah kicked against his seat with a scowl, which only made him chuckle lightly.

The drive to the party wasn't really all that interesting.

Emily turned up the radio and sang along to each song that was played.

Leah and Alice got along surprisingly well, although I was pretty sure that Leah was just using this as an opportunity to corrupt someone.

Rose was gradually coming out of her momentarily bad mood and when we finally arrived she was just as spirited as the rest of us.

Sam's car got waved through the great entrance gates and he parked it right in front of the door.

"Just what exactly do Chris' parents do for living" I asked as I took in the mansion.

It was definitely big, although relatively small if you compared it to the surrounding compound. Still, it was impressive nonetheless.

"Umm...Her dad does something with movies and her mother runs a modelling agency," Emily told me.

"Then why do they live in Forks?" Rose wondered out loud.

"To have some peace and quiet. They have a few more houses around the country, but this is their main estate. Chris' father used to live up in Port Angeles so I suppose he wanted to stick close to home. They haven't been here for long though – they only moved here last year."

"To think that Chris is one of those people who called _us_ stuck up," Alice muttered.

I chuckled at that. She had a point there.

As if speaking about her had summoned her, the front door opened and Chris stepped out.

"Come in, come in. People will be let in soon and you don't want to be caught in that chaos," she said and waved us in.

"We're the firsts?" I asked her as we stepped into the main hall.

It seemed like the main point of the party was going to be out here.

"Not exactly. Paul and the rest of them are already here too. You're all something like a VIP circle, because everyone else is still waiting outside."

Coming to think of it there had been a row forming when we arrived.

"If you already have this many people invited why couldn't Bella bring more friends?" Rose asked, as we followed Chris.

She led us into the living room where a familiar group of people sat.

Those were the exact same people that Leah introduced us to after the Talent Show.

"Yo Leah," one of them called. "Help me finish the playlist."

Leah just walked over to Paul, who was sitting on the couch, and made a bored face.

"If you don't want any classical music in it, you shouldn't ask me. Bella can help you," she replied.

The boy looked at Alice, Rose and me, as if trying to find out which one of us was Bella.

I just shrugged. "Sure, I'll help," I said and went over to him where he was sitting with a laptop.

"Cool," he grinned, "I'm Embry, by the way."

While setting up a playlist that would satisfy everyone, we talked a little about other random things.

I found him to be a pretty funny guy and actually enjoyed his company.

It wasn't too long after, that Chris announced that the entire load of guests would be let in, so we quickly connected the laptop with the stereo and turned up the music.

Looking around, I didn't see Alice and Rosalie anywhere.

I was just about to ask Chris where they were, when she already answered, "Your friends are both in the kitchen with Leah. You should get them out of there, because I have a feeling that they are drinking the entire supply in there."

She rolled her eyes in a dramatic manner and then left the room, probably to go out and let her guests in.

Despite the fact that I had no idea where the kitchen was, it was pretty easy to find, thanks to Leah and Alice laughing loudly.

I went into the kitchen and found Leah, Emily, Alice and Rose standing around the kitchen isle – each of them with a red plastic cup in their hands.

Leah and Alice were holding unto one another, laughing hysterically while Rose made a disgusted face and gazed into her cup.

Emily just shook her head slightly but smiled as well.

"Oh my gosh, I just can't believe that happened," Alice gasped.

"Umm...what is going on in here?" I asked no one in particular.

Everyone turned to look at me.

"Bella," Alice greeted me enthusiastically.

I had a suspicion that she had been drinking, judging by her flushed face and the carefree behaviour.

So much for her being a goody two-shoes.

"Heya Bella, wanna drink my special creation as well?" Leah sang.

I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Don't drink it, it's disgusting," Rose advised me, setting down her cup and pushing it away.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"It really tastes horrible," Emily agreed.

"Then why are you drinking it?" I asked, mainly looking at Alice and Leah, who continued sipping their drinks.

"It's disgusting, but it's good," they both told me.

"They are already halfway into drunken land," Emily explained and grabbed one of the bottles on the isle. "Do you want to drink something?"

"As long as it's not Leah's special creation," I replied.

"No worries, it's my special creation. Although not really all that special or my creation for that matter," she grinned and filled three cups with the liquor she was holding and then went over to the fridge to pull out a soda.

When all three cups were filled she handed me one and the other Rose.

Rose eyed it warily.

"You can drink it, Rose. It's not nearly as deadly as Leah's 'Universal Mix'."

She smiled at Emily and took a sip before turning around to look at the door.

"So when is the party supposed to start? If it keeps going like this, we'll be drunk before it even starts," she asked.

Her question was answered by a roar of a crowd entering the house.

"I guess the party just started," I remarked. The music was turned up louder so that it reached the kitchen now as well.

"Alright chicas," Leah shouted and raised her cup. "Let's get this party started!"

We all grinned and raised our cups as well. Now that the crowd was here, it was finally time to let loose.

* * *

><p>"Come on, let's leave it up to the guys to keep up the heat on the dance floor," Chris shouted in my ear.<p>

I nodded in agreement and we both danced our way out of the crowd and into the living room.

We spotted Sam sitting on the couch and Chris dragged me over to him. She sat down in the only empty space on the couch – which was luckily right next to Sam – and pulled me on her lap.

"Already done with dancing?" Sam asked us with a grin.

"Far from it, we just felt bad stealing everyone else's show," I told him.

"Why are you just sitting around?" Chris inquired, swaying us both to the music.

"Waiting for Emily. She went to go to the bathroom."

"Jeez, Sam. You're so whipped," Chris chuckled and I giggled along with her.

"Look what we found," I heard Emily cheer just then.

She entered the room together with Rose.

Everyone in the room looked into their direction.

They held up three bottles of vodka, one empty water bottle and a stack of little shot cups.

I was very impressed with their skill to hold all of that at once.

"We're going to play 'Spin the bottle' in hard-core party-style," Emily announced and the two of them placed their stuff on the coffee table.

A few people immediately settled themselves around the table on the floor, while others just ignored them.

"And how exactly does that work?" some girl asked.

"It's simple. You spin a bottle and whoever it lands on has to drink as many shots as the number of the month the person, who spun the bottle, was born in."

"So if someone, who is born in December, spins the bottle and it lands on me, I have to take twelve shots?"

"Yup," Emily grinned. "Now who wants to play?"

A round of cheers was the answer and Rose and Emily immediately started setting up the game.

"Should we play as well?" Sam asked Chris and me.

I frowned at him.

"Don't you have to drive us home later?"

Chris nudged me a laughed. "You're my VIPs; you get to stay the night."

"What? Why didn't you say so before? Then there is absolutely no reason for me to hold back."

"You were holding back? Doing flips, turns and splits are what you call holding back?" Chris asked in disbelief.

"I only meant in the alcohol department. I figured that I had to babysit Alice and Rose all night and get them into their room later," I answered and slid down from her lap to join the group around the coffee table.

"You playing too, Bella?" Rose asked me.

I nodded eagerly.

* * *

><p>"I just want to die," Rose groaned, leaning her head against the tiles.<p>

"You wouldn't be in such a bad shape if you had eaten something," I told her as I went over to the bathtub and sat down on its edge.

"Or I just shouldn't have participated in the second drinking game. Who knew there were so many songs with the words 'money' in it," she said, frowning slightly.

I laughed lightly. "I knew, that's why I suggested the game."

"How come you are still so sober? You even started a third game. You should have alcohol poisoning by now."

"I had to make a quick prayer to the porcelain god afterward as well and I always make sure to drink water every now and then."

Rose nodded.

"You should go and check up on Alice. I think she has been getting a bit too cosy with this Jackson character," she then said after a moment of silence.

"Are you sure you don't want me to continue holding your hair up?" I asked her, although I was not particularly keen on watching her wretch away again.

But I also didn't want to walk downstairs again, because I felt like walking anywhere that was not a flat surface was not advisable at the moment.

"I'll be fine. I think it's all out anyway; I just wanna stay here and enjoy the quiet. I'll have to thank Chris for letting me use her private bathroom."

It really had been a nice gesture of Chris to unlock her bedroom and grant us entrance to her bathroom, considering that Rose would have to spend quite some time in there and it would probably make the other guests unhappy.

I got up again and made a face at the moving floor. I really had to concentrate in order to walk properly instead of tumbling all over the place.

"Alright, I'll come and check on you again later," I told Rose, who only waved in response when I left the bathroom.

Walking back downstairs was surprisingly easy, thanks to all the people along the way that I just used as support.

Most of them were probably wondering why some random chick held on to them for dear life, but I didn't cling to anyone long enough for them to even say anything.

Back downstairs I went into the living room again and found Alice and Leah there.

Alice was sitting on the lap of some guy that she had introduced to us earlier as Jackson.

I plopped down on the couch next to Leah, who was sitting on the floor, creating another deadly beverage mix for some poor unsuspecting girl.

"Heya Bella," she greeted me. "Want one as well? I think you are still too sober."

"You can never be too sober," I grumbled and leaned back to let my head rest a little. "Just tell me how Alice is doing; I'm not in the condition to turn my head in her direction right now."

"There you go," Leah said to the girl and then sat down on the couch as well. "Well, they haven't made out yet – which is pretty lame if you ask me. She just keeps on talking and the poor guy is probably just waiting for her to fall asleep."

Leah giggled. I couldn't help but grin as well.

"Who is he anyway?"

"He's one of Chris' Port Angeles friends, I think," Leah told me. "Jeez, is it just me or is the room spinning?"

Staring up at the ceiling, I said, "The room is definitely spinning."

"Good, no party without a spinning room."

"We are so going to regret this in the morning," I mumbled. The massive hangover that I was sure to face when I woke up was already making my stomach rumble.

"But it was worth it."

"Not so sure about this anymore."

Leah nudged me lightly. "What kind of party attitude is that? You should enjoy your buzz and do all the crazy things you wouldn't do when you're not drunk. You need to have good stories to tell later on in life."

"Why do people always have to be drunk to create good stories?"

"Because no good story starts with 'That one time when I ate salad'. It's sad but true," Leah remarked. "Oh, look at that. Jackson has finally made his escape."

I reluctantly lifted my head and found Alice sitting alone. She attempted to get up but somehow ended up on the floor.

"We should not let her drink anymore," I advised.

Leah hummed her agreement.

I watched how Alice got up with her phone pressed to her ear and she squealed happily when she caught sight of me.

Oh boy.

She started to walk but stopped, looking surprised.

"Edward," she screamed happily, "Why did you call?"

I eyed her with narrowed eyes. The chances that Edward would call her when he knew fully well that we were at a party were pretty slim – except if he wanted to inform her that it was bed time for her already.

"Oh, nothing. I'm having a lot of fun and I think I might be in love," she slurred into the phone.

Leah and I snorted at that.

It was really not all that surprising that she had a drunken crush on Jackson, because he looked oddly similar to Jasper, who was her object of desire in sober state.

Alice now stumbled toward us.

"There is Bella. Edward, I need to hang up. I want to dance with her."

She handed me the phone and started to pull me off the couch at the same time.

"Leah, you should watch her before she does something stupid. Don't let her out of your sight" I said, before I lifted the phone to my ear.

"Edward, is that you?" I asked unnecessarily. Why I even took the call was unbeknownst to me.

"Yes, would you mind explaining to me what is going on?" he asked, sounding irritated and confused.

I started to pace around, like I always did when I was on the phone and concentrated on pronouncing my words properly.

"Umm...Alice apparently drunk dialled you," I told him.

"She's not even supposed to be drunk," he snapped right away, "None of you are. You are all under-"

"Yeah, yeah. Could you save that speech for some time later, please? I have bigger problems right now than dealing with your parental antics," I cut him off. After all, I was busy appearing less drunk then I was and now I had to keep an eye on Alice as well before she went and started to go wild.

Thinking of Alice, I looked back at Leah. Leah still sat on the couch – sans Alice.

"Where the fuck is Alice? I told you not to let her out of your sight," I hissed at her.

With Alice on a drunken rampage and Rose puking out everything she's got inside, this was not going as well as I wanted it to. Although, I shouldn't be feeling responsible at all, I couldn't help it.

"I didn't let her out of my sight. She went into the kitchen," Leah told me and got up, presumably to join Alice.

Those two were just going to continue pouring liquor down their throats and this should be the last thing they should be doing. Letting out a scream of rage, I felt how my alcohol-induced fuzziness was fading. Nothing like taking care of other people to bring you back to soberness.

"Well, I have to stop your cousin from poisoning herself and then I need to check up on Rose, who was puking her guts out a few minutes ago. I have a lot of shit to deal with right now, so bye," I said swiftly and already made my way toward the kitchen through the load of people that just seemed to be everywhere.

I was about to hang up when I heard Edward's voice yell, "Wait!"

"What?" I snapped at him. My mood was drastically changing now that I did not feel blissfully drunk anymore. "I don't have time for you right now."

"I'm coming to pick you up; I'll be there in five minutes."

This stunned me into silence. When had I ever indicated that I wanted him to pick us up? I wanted to tell him that we didn't need him here, but then I thought better of it. Edward picking us up was probably the best thing that could happen right now.

"Okay," I replied, "I'll get the girls."

I ended the call quickly so that I could collect Alice and Rose.

Entering the kitchen, I found Alice standing on the isle together with Leah, dancing and screaming along to the music.

Leah was not the person to put your trust in when you wanted someone to keep people from doing stupid things.

I reconsidered the thought though when I saw that Leah filled Alice's cup with water when the little one demanded a refill.

She handed Alice the cup and then caught sight of me.

"I'm not sure how long I can keep doing this," she said to me.

Shaking my head, I told her, "Don't worry about it. We're going."

"What? But I don't want you to go," Leah protested right away.

I threw a pointed look at Alice and Leah's face was pulled into a grimace.

"Right. I'll get her down from here, you go and get Blondie."

Thankful for her help I sent her a quick smile, before I quickly rushed back upstairs.

Rose was now lying on the ground, looking like shit.

"Hey Rose," I said gently, feeling sympathetic. "Edward is coming to pick us up, so I need you to get up and come down with me."

Rose stirred and then looked at me in disbelief.

I snickered.

"Don't give me that look. I can't tell you how this new revelation came around."

"To think that Edward of all people does something that doesn't revolve around him."

"Oh come on, he can't be that self-absorbed. He volunteered to pick us up."

Rose slowly started to get up and I rushed to her side, making sure that she wouldn't slump down again.

"Please, you should be the first to agree to my statement. He's been a selfish prick ever since he first became the school's top dancer."

"Selfish or not, he's coming to get us right now and we should be somewhat grateful for that."

Rose nodded and leaned against me.

Apparently, she expected me to help her walk out of here.

With her arm around my shoulder, we stumbled back into the madness downstairs and toward the front door, where Leah and Alice were already waiting.

"I don't wanna go home," Alice whined when we stepped into the cool night air.

Breathing actual air was like heaven in that moment.

Leah just told Alice to shut up and the four of us stumbled down toward the gate.

Once we reached the gate, Leah handed Alice over to me and opened it for us.

"I'll call you later," she said and waved us all good-bye.

I grunted my response, too busy balancing both Rose and Alice.

We merely took a few steps when I saw Edward talking to one of the security guys. Quickly clarifying that he was only there to pick us up, I continued my way toward him and was very relieved when Alice stumbled into his arms.

"Whoops, I'm so clumsy," she slurred. "I love you, Eddie."

Edward looked a bit lost at that. Not that I could blame him.

It was quite the fight to get these two girls into the car and I was ready to fall asleep as soon as I got settled on the passenger's seat. The only thing that kept me from doing so was Edward.

Letting him deal with three drunk girl on his own hardly seemed fair.

"How come you are not in such a bad shape?" Edward asked me then.

Turning back to look at the two messes in the back seat, I was really impressed with my self-control.

"I'm not sober either if that is what you are asking. I'm just better at handling my liquor, which is not that hard. Alice was a first timer and Rose didn't eat. Anyone at that party is in better shape than those two."

That was probably not true, but he didn't need to know that. He would probably just start telling me how irresponsible all of us were being.

He voiced his disapproval anyway and instead of ignoring it like I usually would have done, I voiced my opinions freely as well.

That was probably the only problem I ever had after drinking – I always tended to give my thoughts away to just about anyone.

It wasn't as bad as Alice's blabbering, but since I normally didn't actually talk to Edward it was already a big deal.

Upon hearing that his only fun activity in life was dancing, I looked up at him. For some reason he had already been looking at me and even in the semi-dark I could detect a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Aren't you worried that you are a little too obsessed with dancing?" I asked him. The question was out before I thought about it.

"I'm not obsessed; I'm disciplined. The chances of becoming a professional dancer after our education at the Academy are very slim, so I have to make sure to spend as much time as possible with dancing. I want to be able to dance for living," he told me in a calm manner.

I knew this way of thinking. Before my mother died I was probably thinking in the exact same way.

There hadn't been anything other than Ballet on my mind and my whole world just seemed to be made of dancing, breathing and spending time with my mom.

Even back then I had always felt like there was something missing in my life, but I only realized what it was when I met my friends in Phoenix.

And still, until this day, I had been wondering why – why I ever let Ballet play such a major role in my life.

"Why?"

Just like before the word left my mouth without me realizing it.

"Why what?"

I had almost forgotten about having a conversation with Edward.

I quickly formulated a question in my head.

"Why do you want to be able to dance for living?"

That was actually something that I had been asking myself as well. I couldn't really remember why I was so keen on becoming a professional dancer.

There wasn't an adequate reason I could think of that made all the dancers in the academy go all crazy just because of Ballet.

Each of them could just pursue a different career and keep the dancing as a hobby, so why was it that everyone was willing to make such big sacrifices for it?

Just take Rosalie for example. I was fairly certain that the girl was slowly developing an eating disorder. The thought had been in the back of my mind ever since I had to hold her hair while she emptied her stomach.

Only that her stomach had apparently already been empty. Not that I want to go into details, but she didn't spit anything more than liquid.

Thankfully, Edward's voice pulled me out of those very graphic memories.

"I've been training for it my entire life, that's why."

I frowned slightly at that revelation and shook my head.

This was hardly a good reason to be a moody and self-centred person like he was.

Edward pulled the car into a drive way and we came to a halt.

"What? Did you never hear of dedication?" he mocked.

Dedication, discipline and success. It sounded all too familiar to me and I quickly came to the conclusion that those shouldn't be the only things that made you want to reach higher goals.

I remembered how I desperately wanted to master everything that Demetri taught me, merely because I was having so much fun with it.

I turned to look at Edward, deciding to share my sudden (and slightly drunken) wisdom with him.

"It's not that. I just think that you shouldn't lose the love for dance on the way to becoming a professional. What's the use of reaching your goal if you don't have any real passion for it?"

During my short speech I realized that I was not only speaking to him but to myself as well.

It was like an epiphany of sorts, only I was fatigued and it was starting to wear me down so I couldn't really get into it.

I decided to dwell on that later and maybe I would even share that wisdom with Edward as well.

Then again, we might go back to our usual non-existent relationship when we woke up.

Might as well go back to it now.

"Besides, the Ballet business is a bitch. They'll try to break you even before you step foot in it," I informed him with a smirk, ending the deep conversation. This was definitely true, but I didn't give Edward the chance to respond as I got out of the car and opened the back door to get Rose out of the car.

She was sleeping soundly, which made it a lot more difficult to get her out of the car.

I managed to shake her semi-awake and she was cooperating a little, but it seemed like she had gotten heavier during the drive.

Edward had scooped Alice up in his arms and waited for me to get a proper hold of Rose, before he led the way toward the front door.

It was only then that I realized that we were not anywhere close to the Academy. I came to the quick assumption that this was the Cullen's house.

With Rose hanging off my arms and my eyes starting to hurt, I couldn't see much of the house, but even in that state I could tell that it was quite beautiful.

Edward somehow managed to open the front door and close it again as soon as I stepped through it.

"Come on, I'll take you to Alice's room."

With Alice dangling off his arms, he went ahead and I followed as well and quietly as I could with Rose. The entire house was dark and Edward made no attempt to turn on the lights.

I vaguely made out the living room as we went through it and had to bite back a curse when I stumbled over the first step of the stairs.

"Careful," Edward whispered – a bit too late.

He was already half-way upstairs, while I grabbed a better hold of Rose and carefully took one step after the other.

As soon as we reached the upper level, Edward continued and opened a door that most likely led to Alice's room.

He switched on the light and put Alice down on her bed.

I was momentarily stunned by the amount of pink in this room.

It wasn't completely bad, but still not my taste at all. Still it suited Alice perfectly – a girly room in pink and white fluff.

"I'm just gonna leave the rest to you," Edward said, standing in the room a bit awkwardly.

"Uh...yeah, sure," I responded.

Edward nodded and brushed past me to leave.

"Good night, then – or rather, good morning."

Not waiting for a response he left swiftly and I was alone with Alice and Rose.

Setting Rose down on the bed as well, I sat there for a moment and let out a long sigh.

For some reason I felt intensely relieved – as if an unbearable tension had just vanished.

Fearing that I might fall asleep any minute, I quickly took off Alice's and Rose's shoes and laid them properly on the huge bed.

Kicking off my shoes as well, I fell back into the fuzzy pillows and was instantly gone.

* * *

><p>"I'm dying," I heard a voice whine.<p>

I stirred slightly, but wasn't ready to open my eyes.

Someone else was laughing and the bed shook slightly.

The dull pain in my head was not agreeing with this kind of movement, but I ignored it.

"Why didn't anyone tell me that it would end like this?" The whine continued.

The voice sounded further away, like the person was just in the next room.

"It's common knowledge, Al. I told you not to drink Leah's mixtures."

What the hell were Rose and Alice doing here? As soon as I asked myself that the memories came back to me.

I grimaced at that.

"Do you mind explaining to me why you are not dying as well?" Alice demanded.

I gave up on sleeping in that moment and opened my eyes.

"I already died," Rose answered, sitting on the bed next to me. She was filing her nails and looked too damn chipper for her own good.

"Could you be any louder?" I grumbled and sat up.

"Oh, Morning Bella."

I just grunted in response.

"Bella," I heard Alice's whine again. "Do something about this headache of mine."

I turned toward the sound of her voice just as she stepped out of what I assumed to be the bathroom.

Her hair was a crazy mess and she looked a little pale.

"Just drink water and get yourself some painkillers."

"Already did."

"Then wait until they start doing their magic and get me some as well."

"Next to you on the bedside table," Alice pointed out.

Sure enough, there stood a glass of water with the painkillers next to it.

I practically inhaled them, hopefully avoiding the full-blown headache that might have come a bit later.

"We should go downstairs and get something to eat," Rose suddenly proposed.

"Are you crazy? Anything I eat will be resurfacing right away," Alice complained. She was massaging her temples furiously as if that would make the pain go away any faster.

"Then drink tea or coffee, but I am starving and-"

"Lunch time!" I heard a voice call from somewhere downstairs.

Alice winced at the sound and Rose clapped her hands together loudly, making Alice flinch once more.

"Shit, I don't know what I should tell Aunt Esme," Alice groaned. "She'll notice that something is up when I refuse to eat."

"Just try to eat some. It might even soothe your stomach," I advised. "By the way, what time is it?"

"Half past twelve and time for lunch as you just heard. You two should make yourselves look presentable," Rose said and hopped off the bed.

Only now I noticed that she was dressed neatly in a pair of striped leggings and a long pink shirt, which was held in place by a black belt around her waist.

As far as I was concerned she could have stepped out of a fashion magazine just a few moments ago. Even her hair was looking perfectly straight and shiny.

How is it that she looks so brilliant after being a complete mess the night before?

I didn't get to ask her that question though, because she was already out of the room.

"Alright, I'll find something for you to wear as well," Alice sighed. "You should wash your face and do something with your hair. The bathroom's over there."

She gestured toward what I had assumed to be the bathroom before and then vanished behind the door on the opposite wall.

Slowly, I dragged myself out of the bed and toward the bathroom.

I looked into the mirror below the bright shining lights and almost let out a scream.

Ever woke up the morning after a party and found yourself looking like fucking Ke$ha? It was definitely a first time for me.

Actually, I would have been happy if I had looked like Ke$ha, but I took the entire 'I'm-just-as-drunk-as-my-make up-artist' look to a whole new level.

I t was understandable that my mascara and the little eyeliner I wore were smudged, but I didn't get why it looked like I had been crying and then smeared the snot all over my face.

I definitely hadn't looked this bad when I left the party.

Alice stepped into the bathroom behind me and stared at my reflection as well.

"I woke up very early in the morning, because I heard you crying. You were dreaming about your mother, I think," Alice told me, her voice so low that it was almost a whisper.

I frowned at her through the mirror, mainly because I couldn't remember that I had dreamed anything at all.

"Anyway, just wash your face. I guess I can make us both look like humans again."

She gestured toward the big amount of cosmetics on the counter.

Wordlessly I followed her directions and scrubbed my face as good as I could, while Alice was applying mysterious pastes to her face.

She managed to hand me a towel in between, without taking her eyes off of her reflection.

"I laid out clothes for you on the bed."

Looking at her, I saw that she had changed as well.

She wore some kind of high fashion sweat pants, a tank top and a loose net shirt over it. Upon examination of her outfit, a thought crossed my mind.

"Umm...Alice, I don't think that your clothes will fit me," I told her.

Just looking at her tiny and slender frame suddenly made me feel a few pounds heavier.

"My mom always sends me clothes to wear, but she tends to forget my size every now and then or she just assumes that I might have grown a bit – either way, I got a lot of things in my closet that I can't wear so you don't have to worry about that," Alice monotoned, her whole focus on accentuating her left eye.

Shrugging, I went back to her bedroom and changed quickly.

"Just what exactly where you thinking when you picked out these clothes?" I complained, staring down at the off-shoulder shirt I had put on.

Alice came out of the bathroom only to go back in with me in tow.

"It suits you and there is nothing wrong with showing off your patriotism every now and then," she responded and immediately started pasting my face as well.

Rolling my eyes, I just accepted that I was going to wear a shirt with the American flag on it for the remainder of the day. Paired with a pair of dark jeans shorts, I looked like I just finished starring in some old American High School movie.

"Boys and girls in this house, if you do not come down here immediately the food will go cold and I will be forced to steal a couple of points away from your weekly score."

I was a bit surprised to hear Madam Esme's voice again.

"Okay, better make this fast," Alice hastily shoved a brush full of powder in my face, filling my airways with it.

Before I even managed to sneeze it all out, Alice was already yanking a brush through my hair.

I heard someone thundering down the stairs and judging by the amount of noise that was made, I would have guessed that at least five boys were racing down – but I knew better than to assume that.

After all, Emmett was capable of making enough noise for a whole football team.

Come to think of it, he would make a pretty damn fine quarterback or line-backer or whatever else there is. He was perfectly built to be shoving a bunch of guys around, but instead he was a Ballet dancer.

I sighed. What a waste.

I felt how Alice pulled my hair into a high pony tail, but leaving a few strands to fall in my face.

This was way too much effort just for going downstairs to eat.

"All done, you look like the perfect American girl next door," she announced.

Up until that moment I hadn't even noticed that Alice was keeping her voice down. Not so much that any other person would have noticed, more like she was actually speaking at normal volumes.

I guess, I'd have to thank her hangover for that.

I threw a quick glance in the mirror and was astonished that Alice not only made me look human, but also made me look like I was glowing.

Seriously, I had to take a second look to make sure that it was me that I was looking at.

Whatever she did, she just made me look flawless.

There were some pretty awesome skills resting in this girl.

She herself looked like she had been up and ready to conquer the world since early in the morning.

I was pretty impressed, but had no time to voice any of my thoughts because Alice already dragged me along to go and eat as well.

Even though she was hung over and her energy levels might have dropped a little, there was still more than enough to spare.

I barely even managed to cast a look into the light living room that I had only seen in the dark before.

She let go of me though when we were in the big kitchen/dining room that seemed to have windows everywhere, just flooding the entire room in light.

Alice immediately went for cover at the dining table, where the light was a bit more dimmed, since it didn't stand right next to window.

Rose sat at the kitchen counter and chatted with Madam Esme, who just pulled a large dish out of the oven.

The boys all sat at the table as well, talking to a man that I had never seen before.

But it didn't take me a lot of time to figure out who this man was. His striking resemblance to Edward and the fact that this is the house of Edward's parents had to lead to the conclusion that this was Edward's dad.

It seemed like Edward had gotten a pretty mean set of genetic pools.

With those two as his parents there would have been no way for him to turn out ugly even if he tried.

Madam Esme spotted me as she moved to set down the dish on the table and smiled warmly at me.

"Come on, sit down. You can make yourself at home here," she said when Emmett started lunge toward what looked to be a meat loaf.

She smacked the back of his head. "I merely said 'make yourself at home' and not 'forget all your manners and behave like a caveman'," she scolded.

Emmett made a face and sat back, pouting.

"Such a moronic idiot," Rose grumbled, now settling down on a chair beside Mr. Cullen.

I moved to sit between her and Alice.

"Who lit the fuse on your tampon?" Emmett asked her amusedly.

Jasper snorted at that, but had to regain himself when he caught Rose's glare.

"Seriously Emmett, why don't you just slip into something comfortable... like a coma? It would do all of us a huge favour," she snapped back at him.

The good mood that she seemed to have had earlier was completely vanished.

Emmett opened his mouth to retort something to that but was stopped by Madam Esme who smacked him again.

"Behave," she warned as she sat down on her husband's right.

"But Rose sta-"

"I don't wanna hear it," Madam Esme sighed and gestured toward the various dishes on the table.

"Let's just eat."

As if that had been some kind of signal, Emmett instantly started to fill his plate.

I saw Edward lean back in his chair and shake his head slightly. He looked perfectly relaxed and the small smile on his face actually made him look even more handsome than normal.

"But there is something I do want to hear," Madam Esme's voice piped up again. "What where you doing driving around town in the middle of the night, Edward?"

His smiled dropped and his eyes immediately went over to me. The frown that he gave me told me that the two of us definitely did not make an improvement with our interaction last night.

He would probably just tell his mom everything and she would probably call my dad to let him know that his underage daughter has not changed her ways even the slightest bit.

I should have thought about this a bit earlier – especially since there was still the threat of going to juvi somewhere in the back of my mind.

Death, come and get me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**** All done... Let's see what the next chapter brings us. I already have some veeeery good plans, but you can always throw in ideas that you might have- I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to that.**

**I'd love to ramble on and on about random things right now, but I got it all out earlier and now I'm just really tired and can't do any more rambling. Please just leave a review and let me know what you think. I always love to hear from you guys :D**


	12. Boots were made for walking

_**A/N:**___**I'm impressed with myself for updating this fast- you should be impressed as well. I'm not sure whether it is because Christmas is just around the corner or because of a mysterious upper force. Doesn't really matter as long as there is a chapter.**

**Enjoy reading, I have loooots of stuff to stay at the bottom.**

* * *

><p>"Now, now, darling. Don't you think it's rude not to introduce me to the newest addition of the group?" Mr. Cullen spoke up and directed his eyes at me.<p>

He was smiling gently.

Madam Esme's attention shifted toward me as well.

"Right, I had almost forgotten about that. That's-"

"That's Bella and this is Uncle Carlisle. You'll see him wandering around the Academy every now and then," Alice completed, her head resting on her left hand. "He's something like the school's private doctor."

"Umm...nice to meet you, Dr. Cullen," I said, a bit caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.

"Oh, it's alright when you call me Carlisle," he replied. "So you are the new student that I keep hearing about?"

My eyes widened at that.

What exactly did he mean? Was the whole family gathered around the table on the weekends just to talk about me? And if they did, just what exactly were they talking about?

"Dad," Edward piped up. "You're making it sound as if we always sit here and gossip about her."

"God no, that's not what I meant at all," Carlisle immediately stated. "My beautiful wife over here just mentioned what a wonderful dancer you are."

Looking over at Madam Esme I saw her blush slightly.

Yep, she was fucking blushing like an eighteen-year old school girl.

It was kind of cute if you thought about it. They must have been married for years already and he still managed to make his wife blush.

His actual words then seemed to grasp in my mind.

I looked down at my plate, most likely with a darkened expression.

"Did she show you the tapes as well?" Alice asked her uncle, suddenly perked up.

"Tapes?" Emmett asked his mouth full with half-eaten food. "What tapes?"

"Aunt Esme has some recordings of Bella's previous performances. Her mother is even on a few of them," Alice explained happily.

What the fuck happened to her hangover?

"By the way, where did you get those from?" Alice added.

"Her father sent them to me to show me some of Bella's abilities," Madam Esme responded.

I didn't know what the weird feeling spreading inside me was, but whatever it was it took any sound that my throat would have made.

I desperately wanted them all to stop talking, but I couldn't actually make them stop.

Instead I was looking down at my hands. My appetite had vanished along with my voice.

"So, are they any good or is it just the usual rehearsal stuff that most people send in?" I heard Jasper ask.

Alice started bouncing in her seat. I secretly wished for her to get sick again, so she would stop talking.

"They are awesome. Like I said, they show Bella's previous performances. Bella used to do a lot of competitions."

Just how much did this girl know? Had Madam Esme just given her my file to read? It seemed likely, thinking back to how they had made me watch those tapes.

"Alice," Madam Esme spoke up in a slightly warning tone.

"She was in the World Ballet Competition," Alice continued, ignoring her aunt. "The American Dance Competition and also-"

"Alice," Madam Esme interrupted her sharply.

My heart had started racing madly during Alice's speech and I got up abruptly without noticing.

Not being able to speak, I looked up at the people sitting around the table.

Madam Esme wore an apologetic expression, while everyone else just seemed to be confused.

"Bella," Rose almost whispered. "Are you alright?"

She reached out a hand toward me as if she wanted to comfort me.

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly.

I shook my head in answer to her question.

"I have to go," I proclaimed in a hoarse voice that sounded like I had been crying.

Since the thought had crossed my mind I slipped my hand out of Rose's and touched my cheek.

Sure enough, there were tears flowing.

Now that I knew that I was crying there was absolutely no way that I would be able to hold in a possible outburst.

I turned abruptly and fled the kitchen.

For a moment I was a bit lost. I was in an unfamiliar environment and had absolutely no clue what to do.

I walked out the front door and tried to fight the emotional breakdown.

But what was I supposed to do with all this pent up energy.

Not having any other option and also not really using my brain in that moment, I started running.

I didn't care that I was barefoot and that I had no idea as to where I was going.

I just needed to run as fast as I possibly could.

For a moment it felt like I was running away from something, but I pushed that thought aside.

I wasn't running away, I was just trying to cope.

There was no actual reason for me to cry right now, so why the fuck did I feel like shit?

The tears continued running, but I couldn't pay any attention to that.

I desperately wished for Dimitri, Felix and the others to be here, but that was also a wasted effort.

Being in Forks definitely put a limit on my usual means of avoidance. Whatever it was that I was avoiding.

_When in Rome, do as the Romans do._

I had absolutely no fucking clue where that thought had come from and what exactly the relevance was, but it gave me an idea.

Leah. From all the people I had met so far she was the most capable of steering my mind in other directions.

Without stopping my sprint, I thought of how to find her.

I didn't know where she lived.

Another idea sparked in my head then. Maybe she would still be at Chris' and even if she wasn't Chris could probably tell me where Leah was.

Giving my surroundings one quick glance, I realized that I was already heading in the right direction.

It had paid off after all to be skating around town and it never hurt to look out the window when people were driving you around.

Ignoring the pain in my feet I kept running.

Once I was racing through the actual town, I had to stop every now and then to orientate myself.

People were staring at me like I was some crazy lunatic, but that was the least of my concerns.

I had to use the sudden burst of energy before my body realized that I didn't actually have that much stamina to be running this much.

When I finally reached Chris' place I was ready to collapse.

I slowed down and jogged around the fence to get to the entrance gate.

Luckily, Chris was standing outside talking to Paul and Jared.

Summoning my last bit of energy I sprinted up to them and stopped abruptly just before I collided with Paul.

"Jesus fuck, do you always scare people like that?" Paul exclaimed, taking a step back.

I shook my head while I doubled over in exhaustion and tried to catch my breath.

"Is everything alright, Bella?" Chris inquired, putting a hand on my back. "Why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

Choosing to ignore her questions I asked mine instead, "Is Leah still here?"

"Err, yes," Chris responded. I looked up at her through the curtain of my hair. "She's in the kitchen with Emily..."

"Thanks," I breathed and bolted straight through the open gate.

I threw the front door open and immediately went into the kitchen.

Emily heard me come in and started talking without turning around. "Back already? That must have been the fastest shopping..." her voice was trailing off now that she caught sight of me and nudged Leah, who was standing right beside her.

It looked like the two of them were making pancakes.

Leah turned around and her eyes widened in surprise when she took me in.

"What the fuck happened to you?" she blurted out, pushing the pan into Emily's hand.

"I...I just wanted to see you," I wheezed out and moved to sit at the kitchen isle.

Now that I had reached my destination, I felt like I was suddenly kicked off a high.

The pain on my soles was definitely not ignorable anymore.

"Did something happen?" Leah asked, looking me up and down. "Have you been crying? And why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

I smiled weakly at her stern expression. There signs of worry there as well and Emily, who was not really paying attention to her work, inspected me with a worried glance as well.

"I was just in a hurry," I told her, hopefully sounding as nonchalant as I was trying to sound.

"No shit. If you didn't even have time to put on some shoes, I'd say that you were pretty desperate to get here ASAP."

"That would be an understatement," I muttered, not looking at her.

"Listen, missy. If you don't tell us what happened in the next five seconds, I'm gonna rip of your ear and stick it up your butt so you can hear me kicking your ass," she said menacingly.

"Nothing happened," I snapped at her. Emily flinched at my sudden sharp tone, while Leah didn't even blink. I cleared my throat and continued in a calmer manner, "I just freaked out and didn't really know what to do with myself, okay? It's nothing to worry about; I don't even know what that was all about."

"Two questions," Leah stated. "First, how did you get here? Second, where were you at?"

I sighed. Even though Leah was currently acting like a mean parent, I was really glad to have her around.

"Edward took us to his parents' house," Leah nodded as if she had known this already, "And I ran."

"You what?" Leah and Emily spluttered at the same time.

"Like I said, I freaked out and just took off. I was running like mad and then decided to come here," I explained as calmly as possible.

Leah grabbed a hold of my ankles and heaved them up on the stool next to me. She did it so fast that I almost fell off the stool I was sitting on.

"Looks like someone is not going to be dancing for a while," she noted, after taking a look at my soles.

I could only imagine what they looked like.

Emily cast a quick look as well and turned off the stove.

"I'm gonna go and see if I can find a first aid kit or something," she said and left the kitchen.

Leah pushed my feet off the stool again and sat down on it herself.

"So what exactly was the cause of your freaking?" she asked casually, almost as if she was talking about the weather.

She wasn't even looking at me whilst asking that.

I knew for a fact that she was doing that to put me at ease. It was something that Dimitri had always done to get me talking.

"I can't really tell you-" I started, but Leah was having none of that.

"There must have been something that made you go crazy enough to be running across town without any shoes on."

I flinched when she raised her voice.

"Seriously, if you already made the effort to come and see me, you might as well tell me what happened," Leah then added, more gently this time.

I let out a deep breath before I spoke, "You'll probably laugh at this, because it's really no big deal. We were all sitting at the table and for some reason Alice was suddenly telling everyone about my 'Ballet History'," I explained, making air quotes around 'Ballet History'.

"How does she know?" Leah wondered.

"She was with Madam Esme when she showed some of my old performances to me and I guess her aunt just let her in on a thing or two," I mumbled with a shrug.

"Okay, so basically you freaked because the little boozer-pixie couldn't keep her mouth shut?" Leah clarified.

"Apparently," I said. "It's just a bit weird, because usually I only get this upset when people start talking about my mother or remind me of her or something. Nobody ever really talked about the stuff I did before everything went downhill, so..." I didn't bother to finish. I was trying to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why I just ran half across town, crying half of the way.

"Would you tell me about your Mom?"

I looked at Leah, who was looking at me with a hesitant expression on her face.

"What do you wanna know?" I asked her, my eyes already narrowing in suspicion. It was a natural reaction that I couldn't really turn off.

Leah started drawing invisible patterns on the counter. "Whatever you wanna tell me. Her favourite colour, the thing that annoyed you the most about her or even her dress size. I don't care. You don't even have to say anything at all."

A smile slowly spread on my face. I couldn't actually control it. Leah being considerate was amusing and sweet at the same time.

"She always said that her favourite colour was brown," I told her.

Leah's face scrunched up.

"Brown? How lame is that? Why was that her favourite colour?"

I laughed. "When I asked her that she said that it has been her favourite colour ever since the day I was born, because it is the colour of my hair."

"Wow, putting it that way it's actually kind of cool," Leah muttered. "Anything else you wanna share?"

I hummed thoughtfully. "Hmmm...She was a very bad cook. She always had to follow the instruction of a recipe word for word, otherwise she'd blow up the entire kitchen," I giggled at the memory.

It was almost as if I could hear my mother cursing in the kitchen, like I used to.

"Huh," Leah breathed. "Glad to see that you turned out okay."

I nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, now we that we have finished the sentimental stuff, I'm gonna get back to work. Emily and I are planning to make a pancake-cake."

Leah got off the stool and went back to the stove.

"I'm really starting to think that everyone is just ditching me. Chris, Paul and Jared just wanted to grab us some more eggs and milk and Emily wanted to get a first aid kit- none of them have returned yet."

"Patience, young grasshopper," I advised her in a deep voice. "Patience is the path that will lead to your success."

"Did you just make that up?" Leah asked me with raised eyebrows.

"Pretty much," I answered truthfully.

"Maybe you should eat less fortune cookies."

* * *

><p>"Alright, I called Dr. McDreamy to look at those paws of yours and he said he'll be there in ten. Living in a small town like this definitely has its perks," Chris announced as she slumped down on the couch right next to me.<p>

"Who is Dr. McDreamy?" I wondered. It better not be the guy's real name, otherwise there would be no way that he would be treating me.

"He's just the hottest doctor in the history of medicine. If he weren't married and I wasn't still under-aged, I would totally do him."

"Gross, Chris. Very gross," Embry piped up. We were currently all lounging around in the attic, if you could even call it that.

It was more like a recreational room of sorts. Embry, Jared and Sam were busy playing pool and Emily was currently testing her boxing skills on the Wii. She was supposed to be beating Leah's virtual self to a pulp, but Leah and Paul pulled a disappearing act on us a few minutes ago.

I certainly did not want to know what they were doing anywhere they were doing it.

"So I guess we are not going to see more of your moves any time soon," Chris spoke up, sounding a bit wistful.

"Huh?" was my clever response.

Chris looked at me like I was missing something obvious.

"Sam just had to carry you up here if you remember," she said slowly.

"Right. Sorry," I mumbled and then sighed.

Ten minutes could be a long time if you have nothing better to do than sit around and be bored.

It would have been more entertaining to watch everyone cleaning up the remains of the party, but Chris actually had a cleaning service taking care of that.

I had to agree with Alice on that one thing. Chris should definitely not be the one calling the Ballerinas 'stuck up'.

Just when I started contemplating to pick a fight with the guys by throwing decorative blue pebbles at them- they were in a vase on the coffee table-, the doorbell rang.

"Guess that's your visitor," Chris said to me, winking before she got up and whirled out of the room.

When she reappeared with 'Dr. McDreamy' just about one and a half minutes later, I really wanted to scold myself for actually being surprised.

I mean really, how many hot doctors could there possibly be in a small town like Forks.

Statistically speaking, probably none, but Fork managed to score a big one with Carlisle Cullen wandering amongst the citizens and that was exactly the person who was standing before me just then.

I couldn't really decide whether I should be frowning or swooning.

"Long time, no see," Carlisle joked when he spotted me on the couch. "I already had a feeling that you were the one that I would be treating. Not many people run off without their shoes."

I inwardly groaned. Now that I was way past my mood crash from earlier, I was starting to get annoyed with the fact that I might never get to hear the end of this.

Carlisle sat down next to where my feet were resting comfortably on a pillow on the couch and examined them quickly.

"A shame really to be doing that to such pretty feet," he said and smiled at me.

That smile of his reminded me of his wife and Alice. I had yet to see Edward actually smile so I couldn't tell if there was any resemblance there.

"Did you get the cuts cleaned already," he inquired then.

It only crossed my mind then that I had yet to say something to him.

"Uh yeah. Emily made sure of that. She practically melted my feet with that burning disinfecting stuff," I answered and sent a scowl in Emily's direction.

She just turned to shoot me an innocent grin before she returned her attention to the TV screen.

"Well, it doesn't look too bad. The few cuts are just on the surface and should heal within a week, although I have to wonder about that swelling on your right foot. Did you step on something?"

"Umm, I think so. It didn't really start swelling until I got here."

Carlisle nodded at that. "All I can do is bandage it and tell you not to dance for a couple of days. It's nothing dramatic. Put some ice on it and put as little pressure as possible on your right foot."

"Okay."

Chris joined us on the couch and started a casual conversation with Carlisle.

By the sounds of it she had to check in at the hospital on a regular basis.

I only listened with one ear, watching Carlisle bandaging my feet.

I had always hated foot injuries. As much as I loved lounging around somewhere and do absolutely nothing, I still didn't like it when I was forced to be doing that.

"I almost forgot, Bella," Carlisle suddenly said.

I looked up at him.

He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to me. It was my phone.

"Alice gave me that. Also, she told me to tell you that she is really sorry about what happened. She didn't know that you wanted to keep it a secret."

At the word 'secret' everyone in the room perked up.

I let my gaze wander around the room, kind of avoiding Carlisle's eyes.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't even know that my dancing career had been a secret. I didn't really intend for it to be a secret, I just didn't want to talk about it.

I suppose that kind of made it a secret, but I was actually okay with people knowing- just not my peers. Or the teachers. Yep, it definitely was a secret.

If I didn't know that everyone would suddenly start expecting me to be leaping, twirling and spinning like a pro, I might not mind other people knowing about it.

"She also said that she didn't read your file, in case you were worried about that. Apparently, she just did some research after she watched those videos of you."

That made me look back at him.

I hadn't really thought about that possibility. Of course, she would do her research after watching some of my performances.

Hell, half of the school was probably starting to do research on me after finding out who my mother was.

So far, it didn't seem to be the case, but that was just a matter of time.

"Bella, did you listen to me?" Carlisle questioned, when I didn't respond.

I bobbed my head quickly. "Yeah, I did. It's okay. You can tell Alice that I'm not angry at her. I just...I was kind of caught off guard."

That was a nice way to label it. As long as I didn't know what was going on in my subconscious, I should just go with that.

"Alright then, I'll be sure to pass that along. That is if Alice is not locked up in bathroom again."

He got up and looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Next time, you might wanna keep Alice in check. You're lucky that my wife was easily distracted. She wouldn't have approved of that."

I opened my mouth only to close it again. Did he know what we had been up to last night? Judging by the grin on his face he did. But how?

"Edward insists that he just drove around town, because he couldn't sleep and wanted to get some air, but I know what goes on in this town once this house is a parent-free zone. Besides, I just walked through the last remains of that party."

To say that I was surprised that Edward didn't rat us out was an understatement.

I momentarily lost all function in my brain, because it seemed so absurd to me.

After all, we were talking about Edward. Edward, the moody and self-absorbed jerk who did not like me the slightest bit.

He probably only made that story up to cover for his cousin and maybe even Rose. Although, the latter seemed like an unlikely option.

On his dislike list she was probably almost as high ranked as I was.

"Okay then, I will be leaving. Make sure to put on shoes the next time that you want to jog across town," Carlisle said and waved at me.

I scowled at him. He found that amusing and just chuckled before he made his exit.

Chris followed him and immediately started chattering.

* * *

><p>"Which one?" Paul asked.<p>

"The upper one."

"Jeez. Just one challenge after the next," he grumbled and dropped me on Victoria's bed.

Quite roughly, I might add.

"What the hell?" I hissed. "I'm freaking injured. Don't toss me around like a bag pack."

Paul smirked. "Don't worry about that. My bag pack is a whole lot lighter than you are."

I was about to snap something back at him but Leah interfered.

"Cut it out, kids," she sighed. "Paul, you need to treat Bella better otherwise I'm gonna show you my best magic trick."

Paul and I looked at each other in confusion before we looked at her.

"What?" she asked.

"What magic trick?" Paul and I chorused.

Leah rolled her eyes. "The 'Poof- you're single' trick. It's quite entertaining if you're not on the receiving end."

Of course it would have been something that stupid. I didn't even know why I had been expecting some actual magic.

I nudged Paul lightly.

"You still have to put me on my bed," I reminded him, gesturing toward it.

"In your dreams maybe," he grumbled.

I made a face at that and saw Leah's eyebrows rising. "Eww. No offense, but...eww."

Paul groaned. "That is not what I meant. But don't you think it makes more sense to switch beds until you are allowed to skip around in tights again. Can't be fun to climb up there when you can't even walk properly."

It actually did make sense but I didn't tell him that.

"You know, I'm just gonna take my crutches along tomorrow. My bench time is officially over, so I'm gonna be here tomorrow for class," Leah proposed.

Right in that moment, the door opened and Victoria burst in.

She stopped short when she saw the three of us.

Then her eyes came to rest on me.

"Where have you been all weekend?" she asked me instead of greeting any of us.

She was such a polite person.

"Oh you know, the usual. Partying, disabling my feet..." I trailed off, giving her a half shrug.

"Okay," she said slowly and then turned her attention toward Paul and Leah. "And who are you?"

"The most awesome people you will ever meet," Paul told her gruffly.

In some ways he was kind of like Leah, only a bit more of a jerk.

"Wait," Victoria pointed at Leah, "Haven't I seen you before?"

Leah sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Seeing that I go to school here, you should have seen me here once or twice," she replied dryly.

"Clearwater. You're in the senior class, right?"

It wasn't an actual question, judging by the deep in thought expression on Victoria's face.

Then she seemed to snap out of it and looked at Leah with an almost appalled expression.

"What in the world have you done to your hair?"

"It's a wig," Leah declined. "Listen, we need you to switch beds with Bella. She's got a minor injury and is supposed to pressure her feet as little as possible."

Again, Victoria looked at me.

"So, you party all weekend and end up injuring your feet. You do realize that can get kicked out for that kind of stuff. If you're not willing to take care of your body-"

"Yeah, yeah. Been there, done that. Just switch beds, will ya?" Leah butted in.

I could tell that she didn't have much patience for Victoria.

Victoria shrugged. "Fine."

I saw Paul roll his eyes and Leah grimaced.

"You should ask if you can room with Tinkerbell and Rosie. They are a lot more fun," Leah stated.

Victoria seemed to be offended by that and started to protest, but Leah shut her up with a simple gesture of her hand.

"Alright, Bellsie. I'm gonna have to leave you. My dearest mother will probably rip me a new one for staying away all weekend and not helping her get the house ready."

"Ready for what?" I inquired.

"Nothing special," she waved me off. "My cousins are coming down here sometime next week for some idiot family reunion. We go through that shit every fucking year and each time I just wanna kill myself. Do you know how many freaking cousins I have?"

I shook my head in answer.

"Yeah, neither do I. I just hang out with three of them, one of them being Emily. The rest are lucky if I remember their names."

"Right. What she's basically saying is - we are going," Paul voiced and started to pull Leah out.

"See ya tomorrow, Bella," Leah called just before the left the room.

I sent her a slow wave.

As soon as they were gone Victoria slumped down on her bed beside me.

"I didn't know you were friends with the queen of freaky herself," she remarked.

"Queen of freaky?"

"She's a weirdo. Everyone knows that and she's also kind of a bitch. Not that I can second that, I've never spoken to her until today. But most of her classmates are not too impressed with her. She's a brilliant dancer though."

"I didn't know she was that unpopular."

"She's not. She's actually quite popular. Everyone agrees that she's weird, yet everyone wants to be her friend. You should see how some people follow her around. It's kind of pathetic and she ignores them anyway."

There was a bitter note to her tone and I briefly wondered if Victoria had been one of those followers as well.

"I hope you had dinner already," Victoria added, changing the topic swiftly. "If not you should get downstairs, because they'll be cleaning up in there in twenty minutes."

"Nah, I'm good."

"Suit yourself."

The door to our room opened again.

This time it was Alice storming in with Rose close behind her.

"Bella," she shouted, making me cringe. "I just saw Leah leave and figured you'd be here. Are you alright? Uncle Carlisle told us you hurt your feet. It's not too bad is it? I could call him if you want to. Or do you maybe want something to eat? I could get you something real quick. Just tell me what you—"

"Do you ever take a breath?" I cut her off.

During the course of her speech, she had shooed Victoria off the bed and sat in her spot, grabbing my hands.

"I'm sorry. I just…if there is anything I can do for you, just tell me and I'll do it."

I made a thoughtful face. "There really is something you could do for me."

"Yes?" Alice's eyes were shining brightly and she looked at me expectantly.

"Shut up, just for a few seconds."

Her face fell slightly, but she nodded anyway and pressed her lips together.

Rose looked like she was trying really hard not to laugh.

Again, the door opened and this time it was Emmett who stomped in.

I inwardly groaned. What was it with everyone barging in here like this was fucking Grand Central Station?

"Swan, where have you been? We were worried," he exclaimed.

"You're not supposed to be in the girls' rooms," Rose noted dryly.

"Psh, I don't care. I'm just checking up on my friend, who disappeared for almost two whole days."

"As you can see she is here and healthy. You can go now."

"Could the two of you just knock it off?" I cut in, annoyed with their banter.

Victoria looked slightly irritated and left the room. I couldn't blame her.

This lot was quite hard to endure.

Especially when Alice started talking again.

I had to spend fifteen minutes of my life assuring her that I was fine and didn't need anything.

Just when her proposals had gotten too ridiculous and Rose and Emmett in the background were getting ready to pounce on each other, I let out a loud yawn.

It wasn't even entirely faked, seeing that I didn't get as much sleep over this weekend as I wanted to.

Emmett was the only one to take that as his queue to go, Alice insisted to get me something to change into.

Rose just stayed around to drag the pixie along as soon as she was done.

"And you're really going to be okay?" Alice asked worriedly. It would have been sweet if she hadn't asked that a few million times already.

I just sent her a pointed look.

Alice ignored it. "You can always come and crash in our room, you know. We'll just p-"

"That's enough now, Al," Rose sighed and pulled her along. "Bella wants to sleep and you still have homework to finish. You can continue babying her tomorrow morning."

I wanted to kiss Rose in that moment. It was hard to endure Alice's caring side.

"Alright," Alice allowed. "Sleep well, Bella."

With that the two of them left the room.

Sinking back into the pillows, I let out a deep breath of relief. I felt like I hadn't had any peace and quiet around me for weeks.

The door opened once again.

With a scowl I sat up and got ready to throw a pillow at whoever was disturbing me now.

Rose just smirked at me.

"Sorry, I'll be gone in a second," she said. Crossing my arms, I waited for her to continue because I had a feeling that she wanted to tell me something.

I was right- Rose continued, "I just wanted to say that you shouldn't be too annoyed with Alice. I know she is a pain in the ass at times, but she was just really worried about you."

Yeah, like I hadn't noticed that.

"And she was probably just trying to make you feel better, because she thinks you are angry with her. So just make sure to let her know that you are not because she's starting to get on my nerves as well."

Not waiting for a response of any kind, she left again and closed the door behind her.

I had absolutely no fucking clue what to make of that information, so I just got comfortable on the bed and revelled in the silence that I finally got to enjoy.

What a weird weekend that was.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**___**Alright. I'm sorry for the time skips, I just couldn't come up with anything to fill the gaps between the different 'scenes'. In case you are confused. Bella went to Chris' on Saturday and came back to the Academy on Sunday.**

**Now, I have to pimp out a story:**

**It's called _Painfully Fabulous _by _SweetApocalypses_ and it really needs some more readers. Seriously! **

**The author is a very close friend of mine and she just recently discovered the world of fanfiction. She just came up to me and told me that she wanted to write a story as well and I told her to go for it. Unfortunately, she didn't have any ideas so I let her use one of the maaaany prototypes that I have on my laptop. **

**She liked the idea and started typing but she always ends up being stuck and asks me for help. (Much to my dismay, her boyfriend practically lives next door so she can just come and ring me out of bed) As of this moment, I feel like I have written the entire story so far and I'm begging all of you to send some nice words her way to motivate her a little.**

**I'm kind of fearing that she's going to give up on writing (she is not a patient person) and then I'll be stuck with that story... it is one of my babies after all.**

**Okay, basically I just want you guys to check it out and save me from having yet another story to update. It would be very nice if you did that.**

**Back to the usual matters: Thank you to _justareaderfan _like always. She's a great beta and also endures quite a lot of my random thoughts. I'm currently going through her stories and I thought I should just mention that she's actually a good writer herself and you could check out her stories as well.**

**Anything else? Hmm... Not really. **

**Thanks for reading and please leave a review :D**


	13. One Step at a Time

_**A/N:**_** Once again, another chapter :) I'm not sure how long it took, but I'm sorry if it was too long.**

**Don't we all miss the days when I was able to update on regular bases? **

**Anyway, I don't actually have much to say. I'm impressed by the amount of response I'm getting for this story. When I first started typing I didn't think that many people would be captured by this story. SO thank you all for the reviews.**

**One of these days, I'll get to around to answering some of them :)**

**Now, you can go and read the chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The following week was more of a drag than I would have expected.<p>

Not being able to jump around in tights with the rest of the crowd didn't particularly upset me but it was annoying me to no end that this time I wasn't sitting at the side because I wanted to.

On the bright side though, Leah really did lend me her crutches so that I could at least move around although, after the first day they were quite unnecessary. It wasn't like I had a broken leg or anything.

Also, it was quite pleasant to have Leah around.

Just like me, she had to sit at the side for the lessons for another week or so before she got an all-clear to be twirling around again.

Sadly, she wasn't in any of my dancing classes so I couldn't even pass the time by talking to her.

I did, however, sit with her during all the meals and got to know a few her senior classmates.

No matter where Leah was headed, someone would always come up to her to say something completely uninteresting.

Leah didn't look like she cared much about the attention, then again she did like the reactions to her hair.

To say that everyone was surprised would be a huge understatement.

Apparently, she even got thrown out of one of her classes and had to report to Madam Esme's office because of it.

Leah didn't tell me what Madam Esme had said, but it seemed like it was alright for her to leave her hair purple as long as it was tied up during classes.

Leah was even a tiny bit disappointed that there wasn't more 'fighting' involved.

I could only shake my head at her when she had complained.

Other than Leah making my free time more entertaining, nothing worth mentioning really happened during the week.

One of the seniors volunteered to substitute as Edward's partner for Pas-de-Deux and he even seemed to be quite happy about it.

At the end of the week his ranking had gone up and he looked like he was quite content. As for my rank, it was still somewhere down below- but better than it was in the beginning.

I didn't really care much about the ranking anyway, but part of me wanted to burn that stupid list. I knew fully well that I could be just as high up as Edward. Finding the inner motivation for that was hard though. So after I survived my week as a disabled person, I went back to dancing classes.

Alice was, of course, ecstatic and rambled on and on about the 'special chemistry' between Edward and I. Truth was there was no chemistry whatsoever. Since Edward's rank was up in the sky again it seemed like his ego was aiming for that as well.

He was pretty damn determined to have the same kind of dancing experience with me as he did with the substitute. I was having none of that though.

"Isabella, just once you could let me lead in the right direction," he hissed into my ear.

It was Tuesday morning and I was already in a bad mood. Dancing with Edward had already been a catastrophe the day before and it didn't help that yesterday's gymnastic hour had been horrendous and painful once again.

For a brief moment I had been happy- mainly because Leah was in our gymnastics course- but Madam Esme took good care that all the positive feelings within me were destroyed. So it was really no surprise that I was not in the mood for Edward's rough handling the day after.

Okay, maybe he wasn't exactly rough, but that boy did not know how to compromise.

After having danced with that ridiculous senior girl, he seemed to think that I was just as easily influenced as she was.

"Mademoiselle, _grand _battement and then four steps to the left. Not five and not three...Four! And what did I say about the arms? Another battement and then again four steps forward. A pirouette afterward, battement à_ droit et a gauche, _pirouette, another grand battement- not petit, I said grand- staying in position and then the working leg can slowly move downwards.

And monsieurs, you are supposed to catch the foot with a bow. You don't even have to catch, she will be moving it slowly into your hand. So stop grabbing legs out of mid-air. Also, I am not happy with those sloppy fouettés. _Fouetté_, big steps and pull your partner along, then comes the jeté and..." Madam Cope interrupted her rant with a sigh and rubbed her temples. "Really, all you have to do is lead her directions. Subtle touches and not drag her across the dance floor. It is only an illusion of you being the guide. You have to pretend to be steering her in the right direction and at the same time leave some room for her movements. You can do little corrections if needed, but if I see Mr. Cullen yanking on his partner one more time..." she trailed off and another sigh escaped her.

I couldn't help but grin smugly. Even Madam Cope noticed Edward's incompetence.

"Okay, let's try this again."

Everyone in the room let out mutters, but no clear complaints were to be heard. We all got back into position and waited for Madam Cope to count us in.

"Un, deux, trois, danse," she instructed.

I threw my right leg up, just like we were supposed to. Although, I was quite certain that something went wrong there. I felt a push against my leg, did a half-twirl and fell.

"Stop," Madam Cope, all but yelled.

I turned around to stare at Edward.

Obviously, his stupid fouette had interfered with my beautiful leg throwing.

"What the fuck?" I hissed as I got back on my feet.

He had knocked me down pretty good and I just knew that this was going to leave a bruise on my calf.

"Can't you even do a battement?" Edward hissed right back.

"That's what I did, dimwit. You should learn to keep your distance when people kick their legs around."

"That was everything but a grand battement. It looked like you were trying to swat a fly with your foot."

"Then you can wear the tutu and do it better."

"No problem, anyone can do it better than you."

"You know-"

"Enough!" Madam Cope yelled, making us both flinch.

I stepped away from Edward after realizing that I had stepped closer to him during this little spit fight.

"Ms. Swan, he is right. You need to straighten out your leg a lot more and it needs to go all the way up. You and I both know you can do it in your sleep, you're just not concentrating enough. Ballet is not about throwing limbs around."

I frowned at Madam Cope's scolding and frowned even more at Edward's triumphant expression.

"And Mr. Cullen," his grin fell, at Madam Cope's sharp tone, "You will have to stop hovering around her and staying to close. She is capable of dancing and it's not your job to control her movements. You're her support not her puppet master. Both of you need to sort out your problems. While one of you has to relax a bit, the other one is too relaxed."

Madam Cope shook her head.

"Class dismissed," she declared just when the bell rang.

I gathered my stuff quickly and stomped out of the studio right away. Of course, Alice and Rose were quick to follow me.

"I think we all really annoyed Madam Cope today," Rose observed in a bored voice.

"You know, she's right about you and-"

"Shut up, Alice," I cut the pixie off, just when she started speaking. "I don't wanna hear that boy's name for as long as possible."

I don't even know why I was fuming. Maybe because, he treated me like a toy or it was the fact that he was an arrogant asshole. Didn't matter which one, I was positively pissed after that class.

"If the whole class keeps messing up the beginning of the dance, we're not gonna be able to dance the routine in time," Rose mused.

"In time for what?" I asked.

"In time for the Four Season Ball in Chicago," Rose said calmly.

"Excuse me, what?" I shrieked. I abruptly stopped walking and looked at the back of Rose's head in disbelief.

Alice put a hand on my shoulder.

"Rose, you can't just drop information on her like that," she said almost accusingly.

Rose turned around with a roll of her eyes.

"The Four Season Ball is an event hosted by the four biggest Ballet schools in the country. It's every year and each year another of the four hosts it. This year Dance de Volterra hosts it and they are in Chicago. We have a little performing thing, a formal party and a few days of joining forces. Nothing special if you ask me, but half the school goes crazy over it," Rose explained with a shrug.

The warning bell sounded then and we had to hurry to our next class.

At Lunch, I simply decided to ask Leah about this Ball thingy.

Leah already sat at the table, looking at a magazine in front of her while eating.

"What's up with the Four Season thingy?" I asked her as I sat down.

Rose and Alice were behind me, as per usual. It was almost a rue by now that the four of us sat together. Although, Alice joined the boys every now and then. Rose couldn't be bothered most of the time.

Leah looked up with a grimace on her face. "It's a snobbish event we all have to endure during our time here. Nothing to get all excited over."

I stared at her with a blank expression. She sighed and explained further.

"The juniors and seniors are shipped out in the middle of November to whatever school is hosting the Ball. It's called Four Seasons because someone must have had a major crush on Antonio Vivaldi. It's kind of the theme. Our school got the Fall for this year, so we prepare routines for it, fly over to Chicago, perform and let the spoiled kids from the other schools talk shit about us. Then we watch their routines, laugh at them before we go back to the hotel and enjoy the minibar. We'll be there for about a week or so. Depends on what they are planning to do this year. We usually make it through a bunch of dancing classes as combined schools, although the teachers try to fancy it up and call those dancing 'workshops'. At the end of this entirely unnecessary experience the hosting school throws a party- excuse me, a ball- for us and we pretend to be sipping on juice while we really sneaked in some champagne. After that, you grab a random person in the crowd, find a secluded spot and make out until it's time to get back to the hotel. Next morning you get up early, hung over and exhausted, and everyone flies back here. Simple as that."

"Wow," I breathed out, after that long explanation. "Rose's version was much shorter."

"That's because Rosie has never had to go. Neither did Alice."

I looked at Alice and Rose in question.

Rose didn't seem to be paying much attention.

"Only juniors and seniors go and not even all of them. They pick the best courses to go. Anyway, it's our first year," Alice explained.

"Don't be too excited, those other schools are full of bitches," Leah complained. "Not to forget that the girls suck too."

"Any stories to share?" I asked her with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, something about sneaking champagne and making out?" Alice pressed, her eyes glowing.

If you asked me, that girl was slowly but surely turning into an alcoholic.

Leah only waved her off though. "Nothing special. I wasn't even involved in all of it. I was too busy letting out my bad mood on everyone in close distance, so I didn't get involved in much of the secret society stuff." She shrugged.

"Well then, make sure to be in a good mood this year," Alice instructed.

Leah saluted lamely and turned her attention back to her magazine.

We all continued eating. Well, all except Rose. I hadn't said anything to her yet, mainly because I didn't know how to approach this subject. I did however notice that she was not in the best of moods these days.

Not that I was ever at the receiving end of her bitchiness.

After lunch, we made it through the rest of our classes. It was a drag. While I was getting used to the routine at the Academy, I was also wondering if it was possible to die of boredom. It had to be possible, because I was feeling pretty close to death. The again, I should just be thankful for not having to endure some weird drama- although Edward did make life complicated enough.

The day passed without anything interesting happening and soon I was in my bed, sleeping only to be woken up again.

Another day in twinkle town, I sighed.

I was so not looking forward to dancing with Edward. Before that was going to happen though, there was still breakfast.

"Morning princess," Leah greeted, joining me just before I stepped into the cafeteria.

"Morning, witch," I grumbled back at her.

"I see that the sun is shining out of your ass once again," Leah sang as she filled her tray with different fruit salads.

I copied her and responded with a shrug.

"I'm just not looking forward with having to deal with that snob partner of mine," I muttered.

Leah giggled at that as we made our way towards the table.

Alice was already sitting there, doing her homework like she usually did at last minute. I really wondered what kept her busy all afternoon and evening not to be doing it then.

Actually, I knew what she did and it was really nothing.

"Morning, Alice," Leah and I chorused.

"Where's the Queen Bee?" Leah added.

Alice looked up. She looked a little worried.

"Rose had to go the nurse this morning. She's been having stomach pains all night and wants to get some painkillers."

"How did that happen?"

"Well, she ate my complete chocolate stash last night and has been puking ever since."

"She ate?" I gasped in surprise.

Both Alice and Leah turned to look at me in confusion.

"Oh, come on. Don't give me that look. Didn't you guys notice that she wasn't eating these past few weeks?"

"Who isn't eating?" Emmett's voice boomed.

I jumped at the sound and watched with wide eyes as he sat down at the table.

Since when was he capable of sneaking up on people?

"Your girlfriend," Leah replied darkly.

"So where is Rose?" Emmett pressed.

All of us three girls exchanged a look. Good to know that he knew we were talking about Rose. But we had more important things to concentrate on.

"Up at the nurse's," Alice told him then.

"Is she okay?" Emmett promptly asked.

Alice shrugged. "We'll see."

We all sat in silence for a moment.

"Maybe you guys should have an intervention for the kid," Leah suggested after a while.

"What if it's not necessary? She might have just been feeling a bit under the weather the past few weeks and didn't tell us," Alice suggested.

I threw her a sceptical look.

Alice sighed. "At least let me talk to her first, before you all accuse her of something."

Leah and I shrugged at the same time.

"Fine," we chorused.

"So, let's talk about something more cheerful," Emmett said.

"Can't think of anything," I commented.

"There is nothing cheerful going on in Forks," Leah added.

Emmett made an almost scandalized face. "Of course there are. Just take Pas de Deux class, for instance. Edward and Bella manage to brighten the day each time with their bickering."

I could only groan at that.

"I'd love to see that," Leah sighed dreamily. Then she perked up and looked around the room as if she was searching for someone.

I watched her with curiosity, while trying to figure out what she was up to.

She whipped out her phone from her school bag and quickly swiped her fingers across the screen. Then she looked up again- this time I noticed that she was looking at someone.

"What are you doing?" I asked her, when her phone beeped, announcing a text message.

Leah made a dismissive hand gesture and shook her head.

"Nothing, nothing," she muttered.

I looked at Emmett and Alice, in hopes of getting an answer but both of them just made the same confused faces.

"Hey Em, what are you doing here anyway?" Alice asked the big bear casually.

Emmett grinned at her.

"Just felt the need to hang with the cool chicks for a change. I mean, Jasper and Edward are fine but I prefer less hairy girls."

Alice just rolled her eyes at him.

Having Emmett sitting with us was actually quite refreshing. He was a goof, but at least a funny one. He continued to joke around throughout breakfast, lightening the mood a bit.

Eventually, the bell rang and we all got up and shuffled over to our classes.

Leah parted ways with us and wished me luck.

I was fairly certain that she meant the exact opposite, so that she would have something to laugh about when the others told her about it.

When we stepped into the dancing studio, we were instantly greeted by an impatient Rose.

"Enduring Irina early in the morning is pure hell," she hissed as she stomped up to us.

Sure enough, only she and Irina had been in the studio until now.

"Why didn't you just join us in the cafeteria?" Alice asked her.

"I figured that it would be too late and you would already be on your way here," she shrugged.

"So what did the nurse say?"

At that Rose's scowl only deepened.

"She didn't say anything. She was on the phone and just handed me some painkillers. I don't know what the hell she is getting paid for."

Alice looked at me as if she was trying to figure out what to say. I couldn't really help her with that. Rose certainly didn't seem like there was anything wrong with her. In fact, she and Emmett found something to hiss at each other once again.

I didn't even know what it was- I had been too occupied inspecting Rose.

"Obviously, the day God let brains down the sky you opened an umbrella," she snapped at Emmett.

"That's rich, coming from a blonde," he laughed.

Until this day, I wasn't sure what the deal was between those two. So instead of staying in the dark forever, I pulled Alice aside.

"What is it with these two?"

"Huh?" was Alice's intelligent response.

I waved my hand at the bickering couple. "Rose and Emmett. Why are they always jumping down each other's throats?"

Alice's eyes widened in understanding and then she let out a high-pitched laugh. She even doubled over with laughter, letting me stand there and stare dumbly.

When it seemed that she had gotten it all out of her system, she wiped tears out of her eyes and finally answered, "They like each other but they are too proud to admit it."

She giggled.

I could only arch an eyebrow at that.

"You're not trying to tell me that this is some kind of foreplay for them, is it?"

Alice straightened herself up again and shook her head.

"Not exactly. Well, to an extent maybe. You see, about a year ago Emmett had this major crush on Rose and asked her out. She said no, she had been kind of hot for someone else at the time. But Emmett, who is never easily discouraged, kept insisting and she kept rejecting him. It went on like that for months.

Then the Four Season Ball came up and our school was hosting it. So obviously, we saw some of the students from the other schools and we all went to the big bash at the end. Anyway, one of these girls captured Emmett's attention and she asked him to go to the Ball with her. Emmett said yes, most likely figuring that Rose wouldn't go with him anyway.

Rose on the other hand was waiting to be asked by someone, but no one did. So she thought Emmett could be her Plan B and sadly she told him as much. He got pissed and told her that he's not her toy and that he already had a date. Then Rose got pissed at Emmett for having a date and ever since that day they have been pissing at each other."

Whoa- I didn't expect a romantic comedy. Okay, maybe the comedy was missing. Probably more of a romance novel for teens.

Without the happy ending.

"So basically, they both can't get over themselves and just make the first step. They bruised each other's egos and with egos that size, it's never a good thing. Maybe one of these days they'll get their act together."

Alice sighed dreamily.

"You know, instead of standing here and gossiping you could have worked on your dancing skills," I heard someone mutter.

Edward just passed by, shaking his head at us.

Alice and I both rolled our eyes at him, but followed him to get ready for class.

It was Friday morning and I was sick and tired of classes. Even more than usual. Our entire Pas de deux course just downright sucked. No one got anything right.

Surely, it didn't help that Edward was still a control freak and insisted on controlling my movements but we weren't the only ones who kept getting shrieked at by Madam Cope.

Leah had been enjoying this news the entire week and as she just so proudly announced at breakfast, she will be joining us for today's class to 'get the live version'. She somehow managed to pull some strings that landed her in our class for the day, helping Madam Cope with the teaching.

Right now, the two of them were busily discussing something, while all of us stood there and waited for them.

Eventually, they turned back to us.

"Alright, we are going to try this again. Ms. Clearwater will go around and give each of you some pointers."

The music started up again and we all did the now all-too-familiar steps. Leah walked from one pair to the next adjusting posture, commenting or just shaking her head.

I could tell that she was enjoying this. Not because she loved to share her knowledge with other people, but because she got off on being superior on others. She hadn't exactly told me that, but that smug smile on her face was just too prominent.

To think I was actually friends with this girl.

My thoughts were interrupted by Edward pulling me to the right. He wasn't harsh or anything like that when he did it, but being on platforms, it's not exactly the nicest thing to be pulled into another direction without knowing.

I stumbled backward, but Edward easily caught me. Standing straight, I whipped my head around to glare at him. I wasn't even surprised that I found him doing the same.

"What the hell are you doing?"

We both yelled at the other.

"Me? I was doing fine until..."

We both trailed off. It was just too weird to be talking (well, more like yelling) in unison.

"You were going into a completely wrong direction," Edward burst out before I could get my point across.

"So it's okay for you to just pull me into the opposite direction? I'm not a fucking doll," I hissed back at him.

"I wouldn't have to pull you anywhere if you were doing it right," he snapped back.

"You know—"

"Mr. Cullen and Ms. Swan, how many times do I have to tell you that I do not appreciate this kind of behaviour in my class?" Madam Cope butted in.

I rolled my eyes at that. She had been telling us that at least three times a day.

"If you cannot behave, I will have you both removed from Pas de Deux with absolutely no chances to ever see the inside of this studio again," she continued her rant.

While I found it only mildly frustrating, since this wasn't my fault, Edward looked like the world was about to end. Madam Cope turned to Leah, who was nearly shoving her fist down her throat to prevent herself from laughing.

I just shot her a dirty look.

"Ms. Clearwater, maybe you have a decent idea."

Madam Cope must have been close to some kind of mental break down if she was already asking a student for advice. Leah forced herself to stop laughing and straightened her face.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she replied and then shot a dirty look at me. "Just let those two perform a solo section in the song. In the first of part of Fall there is some slowing in the music."

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

"How will that solve any of my problems?" Madam Cope asked her in disbelief, probably thinking the same as I was.

Leah was crazy.

"In the entire class, Edward and Bella are the most uncompromising pair. It throws the others off. With those two fighting all the time no one really concentrates as much as they should-" queue agreeing nods- "If you make them the lead of the dance, they will have to put in extra training sessions and it might help for those two to be taught without a classroom full of people. They might even work out their differences."

Madam Cope made a thoughtful face, while I made a horrified one.

Me? Lead dancer? With Edward? Fuck this, I'm going to jail.

"What about the rest of this bunch?" Madam Cope made a disdaining hand gesture at the class.

Leah just shrugged. "Great leaders have a great army... or something like that."

Madam Cope nodded thoughtfully and her gaze zeroed in on me and Edward.

I really wanted to stomp out of this room and declare my defeat. This was it. I was not going to continue with this nonsense. I never signed up for being in the spotlight and most certainly not with Edward. It was already enough to get back on stage. What the fuck happened to 'One step at a time'?

"I like-"

"Excuse me, we're looking for Leah Clearwater," a deep voice barged in.

The door had just opened and two people stepped in. My chin hit the ground. My heart stopped beating.

Two sets of eyes surveyed the crowd and then got stuck on me.

Two wide grins.

"Heya, princess," Jacob and Seth chorused.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **_**Love? Like? Hate? Tell me in a review.**_**  
><strong>_

**I know that some of you expect there to be a lot more dancing, but I tend to try to avoid it... I just don't know anything about dancing. Don't even ask me why I started writing a dancing fic then :P**

**So yeah, I know I can't avoid it forever but let me have some fun before I have to start endless research again- hich will probably be the case in the next chapter.**

**I was always wondering if I have any readers that are dancers. If there are, tell me in a review :)**

**So that's it from me for now, I have more stories to type for.**

**Until next time**

***Star***

**P.s: Special thanks to justareaderfan, who is always a very busy bee. I love her for being able to take some time for my work :D**


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N:**_**Hey guys/girls/dudes... do guys even read Twilight FanFiction? I only have one guy friend who read Twilight and I called him gay afterwards. Not that I think that guys, who read Twilight are gay, I just think all of my guy friends are gay... don't ask me why, I'm just weird like that.**

**Anyway, I want to thank all of you for your support and love and just general awesomeness :) And the reason for this sudden wave of gratefulness (it has always been there but now stronger than ever) will be discussed at the bottom... I don't want to keep you from reading**

**Hopefully, I didn't take too long with the updating this time**

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><p>"What are you guys doing here?"<p>

I was not the one who asked that. I turned to look at Leah, who looked surprised and angry at the same time. It was quite an interesting expression.

Jacob and Seth both turned to look at her, their grins faltering. Leah only seemed to realize then that they had not been greeting her. She looked around with furrowed brows, trying to figure out whom they had been talking to.

I decided to make the task easier for her. Distancing myself from Edward, I spoke up, "Please tell me that you came to bail me out?"

Madam Cope chose that moment to clear her throat. "How is it that every interruption in this class can always be traced back to you, Ms. Swan?" she complained.

I merely shrugged in answer. "Want to kick me out?" I asked almost hopefully.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Madam Cope glared at me. I barely restrained myself from nodding.

With a huff, she turned her attention to Jacob and Seth. "Whoever the two of you are, please leave my classroom," she instructed.

Sure enough, the two of them did as she asked- although quite reluctantly. Leah and I looked at each other, both of us more than a bit confused. At the same time, Madam Cope was holding a speech.

I barely paid attention to the last bit.

"... so I will speak to the other teachers and we'll arrange for all the courses to come together. Maybe that will help you a bit. I'll also have a little chat with Madam Esme and I do hope that we get this problem solved, otherwise you might not get to go to Chicago."

Immediately, the class started protesting. Amongst all the complaints, it was one voice that stood out.

"Why do we get punished just because one of us is clearly not capable of dancing?"

It shouldn't have surprised me that I was hit with a lethal glare coming from Tanya, but it did. After all, it was not my fault that she wasn't getting the steps.

Apparently, my fellow classmate agreed with her, because various people murmured in agreement.

"Ms. Denali-" Madam Cope started, but she was cut off by Rose.

"Don't go around blaming other people for your stupidity, Tanya," she hissed. "If you were to get your steps right then there wouldn't be a need for punishment."

"Are you saying that this is all my fault?" Tanya shrieked.

"No, I'm saying that you should pay more attention to yourself instead of others."

Another girl, whose name I didn't know, joined the discussion. "I'm sorry, but why should I – or any of us for that matter- waste our energy if we all know that somewhere in the background, Isabella will mess up again?"

"Hey, it's not just me. Edward messes up as well," I defended myself. Or at least it was an attempt to defend myself.

"Until you became his dancing partner, there were never this many interruptions in this class," someone else piped up.

And just like that, the scene suddenly morphed into a heated class discussion. While some thought that I was entirely to blame for everything that went wrong in this class, others were under the impression that Edward was part of the reason as well and then there were a couple of people who claimed that everyone was at fault.

I was not getting myself involved in this and apparently Edward thought the same.

Madam Cope was not getting involved either and for a couple of minutes we just watched them all discussing this in a more or less heated fashion. At least, they weren't going crazy and ripping each other's hair out.

Eventually, Madam Cope seemed to have enough of watching and waved me and Edward over. Or at least, I think that was what she did. I didn't see it, but Edward just pulled me along and we ended up standing in the hallway with Madam Cope.

She was staring us down with a pretty fierce expression on her face. Not even Tyra Banks could pull that one off.

"I am officially declaring that I have had enough," she hissed. "The two of you are causing more trouble than anyone else I have ever had to teach."

"Madam Cope-" Edward started, but she just made a hand gesture to shut him up. I really envied her for being able to do that.

"As of now, I'm pulling you out of the Pas de Deux class and the two of you will meet me in the headmistress' office at lunch."

She didn't wait for a response of any kind and just strutted away, muttering something to herself.

I stood there, mildly stunned and unsure of what to do next. Edward seemed to be in much worse shape. He just stood there, completely frozen with a deep frown on his face.

Slowly, as if someone hit the 'slow-motion' button, he turned around to face me. He was not glaring at me. No glare, no frown, no nothing. His face was completely blank when he looked at me and that scared me more than anything else could have done.

"Thanks, Isabella," he said to me and without another word, he left as well.

I took a few steps back, leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground. I could still hear the others arguing inside the studio. Groaning, I leaned my forehead on my knees and tried to get rid of the guilt that was slowly spreading within me.

"Well, seems like you're quite the troublemaker here."

I turned my head to the side, only to find Seth and Jacob sitting there on the ground.

"How long have you been here?" I asked them.

"The whole time," Jacob said with a shrug. "I think you really broke that kid's heart by getting him kicked out of the course."

I groaned once more. "No need to tell me that. I already feel bad as it is."

Seth crawled over to sit next to me and put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, it'll all work out," he assured me. I was going to smile gratefully at him and his trying to cheer me up, when he just had to continue talking. "The only thing, I don't get is how you manage to suck so badly that you get kicked out. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of world class ballerina? You definitely seemed like one when we-"

"Seth, shut up," Jacob instructed. He was now sitting on my other side and patted my head lightly. "You're not helping one bit."

"Thanks, Jake," I sighed in response.

I let myself be comforted by the two of them for a little while until the reality finally sunk in. I jumped up and twirled around to stare at them, incredulously.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" I squeaked.

Jacob just raised an eyebrow at me while Seth looked utterly confused by my behaviour.

"You're only asking now?" Jacob retorted, smirking slightly.

I made a gesture that had no real definition and continued to wait for an answer.

"We just wanted to convince Leah to skip some classes and hang with us."

"But instead, we found you," Seth completed.

At this point, I finally started to wonder what exactly the connection between them and Leah was. I would have asked, but the shrill ring of the bell sounded before I had a chance to do so. Followed by that, was the sound of students coming out of their classrooms and heading to their next class.

Fortunately, Leah was the first one that I spotted.

She looked back and forth between me and the boys and looked like she tried to figure out what was going on.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't have an explanation for you either," I told her and nodded my head at the boys. They were the ones that had to do the explaining.

"Come on, Leah. We told you about Bella before. She is one of our closest friends," Seth reminded her.

Leah only shrugged at that.

"Like I was listening to everything you ever said," she replied and turned to me. "So you know my cousins. Small world, huh?"

"Your cousins?" I tried to make sense of this information.

"Yes, I think I mentioned them before. Didn't I tell you that they live in Phoenix?"

I grinned. "Like I was listening to everything you ever said."

Leah giggled. "Good one."

"Oh my gosh, Bella. I am so sorry," I heard Alice screech before I actually saw her.

She suddenly just jumped me and engaged me in a tight hug, while I was exchanging a confused look with Leah.

Rose made an appearance as well.

"Alice, you can't apologize on the behalf of others. They'll do it themselves sooner or later."

"Hey, where is Eddie?" Emmett asked me, looking around in the crowd. "He should be thanking us for defending his honour."

"Wouldn't I have to thank you then as well?" I asked.

"Nah, you're a girl so it had to be done."

"In that case, Edward doesn't need to thank you either," Rose said.

That earned her laughter from Emmett, Jasper and Leah. Meanwhile, Alice was inspecting me closely. The mention of Edward had just brought back that stupid feeling of guilt that I had successfully been ignoring for a few moments.

"What happened?" she demanded.

Of course, the little pixie would notice. I frowned when her question pulled the attention of the group back to me. I tried to play it cool and shrugged. "We got kicked out of Pas de Deux classes," I told them with a pseudo-nonchalant attitude.

I wasn't even sure what exactly I was feeling guilty about. I shouldn't be feeling guilty. Edward was just as much to blame as I was. If not even more. If only my conscious would see it the same way, but it seemed to be dead set on making me feel bad for not putting more effort into dancing. It didn't really matter in my other classes, because even when I did things only half-heartedly there was always someone who was worse.

"What?" Alice asked, her voice reaching an entirely new octave. There wasn't much missing and she would be the first human dog-whistle.

"You're joking, right?" Emmett and Rose asked at the same time.

I shook my head slowly. "Madam Cope said that she's taking us out of the class and that we were to meet her in the head office at lunch." Just the thought of having to be in there again made me pull a grimace. Surely, nothing good is gonna come out of that.

"It's gonna be so much fun," I added in fake enthusiasm.

There was a short silence, before Jasper moved out of our little circle.

"Come on, Em. We better find Edward and cheer him up a little," he called back over his shoulder.

Emmett immediately complied and the two boys vanished between the other students fairly quickly.

Alice sighed loudly. "I guess we better get going as well. Class is about to start," she mumbled and led the way.

Rose followed her, while I was a little undecided about whether or not I should follow them. Somehow, I felt like they were all feeling a bit resentful towards me. Jake and Seth just looked like they didn't get what exactly the problem was, while Leah seemed to be deep in thought.

"Swan, move it or you'll get kicked out of that class as well," I heard Rose yell.

I quickly moved to catch up with them, waving at the boys and Leah.

"Since when do you call me by my surname?" I asked Rose when I caught up with her.

"Since you managed to get yourself and your partner banned from class," she replied curtly.

So I hadn't been imagining things. They really did blame me for getting Edward kicked out. I couldn't decide if I should just frown and say nothing or bitching at her for being a pretty poor excuse of a friend. Rose didn't give me the time to do either, since she just pulled me into the dancing studio, practically dragging me to where Alice stood.

I freed myself from her grip and glared at her.

"You know that hurt," I hissed.

"Aw, I'm so sorry. Do you want me to kiss the pain away?" she cooed with a vicious edge to her voice.

Immediately, I went into defence mode and crossed my arms in front of me.

I opened my mouth to snap something back at her, but Alice butted in.

"Rose, you don't have to be so mean," she scolded.

Rose only scoffed. "I don't have to be nice to her either."

"Just what exactly is your problem?" I asked Rose, not sure what was up with her sudden mood change. Then again, she kind of had this attitude for the past few days. I was just never on the receiving end.

"My problem?" Rose all but shrieked. "I don't have a problem. It's your problem that fucking pisses me off."

Raising my brows, I retorted, "So you're pissed because Madam Cope took me out of class?"

"No, I'm just upset because your shoes don't match your purse," she said sarcastically.

"Rose, you shouldn't be mad at Bella..." Alice didn't even get to finish.

"Of course I should be mad at her. She got herself and her partner in this situation and I'm not willing to just sit here and coddle her, telling her what a big fat meanie Madam Cope is."

"No one expects you to do that," Alice commented in a small voice.

"It's not just my fault, you know? And why the hell did you even defend me in class when, in reality, you think I'm the one to blame," I questioned.

That didn't make sense, whatsoever.

Rose sighed and lowered her shoulders, making her look less aggressive. "It's not that I'm blaming you. I just know that you can do so much better. I see you every day in technique class and you get through the motions easily, although I know that you're not even trying. So I'm not pissed that you messed up- we all mess up- I'm just not okay with you being a complete slacker and then expecting us to stand up for you—"

"I don't expect you to stand up for me. I can do that myself."

"Fine, next time you can do that. I don't care. My point is that you have everything going for you. You have good feet, a perfect body and a whole bunch of experience. All you have to do is be more passionate about it. Now, I know that Edward is a control freak and makes things hard for you, but I'm fairly certain that you should be able to put him in his place. Instead, you just let him stomp all over you and now he gets to act all heart broken and shit for being thrown out. If anything, it should have been the other way around." Rose ended her rant just when Madam Justins moved into the room and called us to order.

I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about Rose's words. It was weird to have someone, who supports me and yet at the same time doesn't let me get away with everything. Her expectations of me were quite unsettling, but my internal reaction to it was not completely foreign.

"You know, Rose is right," Alice whispered to me, when we stood at the barre. "It's not like we don't want to support or defend you. I'd do that without a second thought and I'm pretty sure that Rose would too, but for us it's not acceptable to see you selling yourself short. I thought that you loved to dance and all that is expected of you here is to dance, so..." she trailed off, mainly because Madam Justins was starting to throw out orders.

Both Rose and Alice had given me a lot to think about and while my mind was racing, trying to come up with a way to evade what I had been evading the entire time. I made it through my morning classes without noticing much.

Alice and Rose didn't talk to me again and neither one of them accompanied me to the head office when it was time for lunch. Secretly, I was grateful for that because I was currently pre-occupied with over-thinking my way of life.

On my way to the office, I almost crashed into Madam Esme, who just happened to cross my way.

"Oh, right on time," she chirped, smiling down at me.

Honestly, I had no idea why that woman was even smiling at me. If I were her and had to deal with my stubborn ass, I would have stopped smiling long ago.

Madam Esme, however, didn't seem to have such thoughts and began chatting happily about her day. I wasn't really listening to her, but she didn't seem to mind- or care. It kind of reminded me of Alice. I was pretty sure though, that she would stop acting all friendly and buddy-like with me when she heard what I had done this time.

Getting thrown out of dancing classes is probably the worst imaginable crime in Twinkle Town.

Just the thought made me roll my eyes. Not even when I had been a completely dedicated ballerina did I get this hung up over this kind of stuff. Then again, I was never enrolled in a prestigious ballet academy.

We reached the door to her office about at the same time as Madam Cope and Edward did. Different then Madam Esme, they both scowled at me- not that it surprised me.

It was comforting though, to see Madam Cope scowling at Edward as well.

Madam Esme unlocked the door and somehow continued her happy chatter about costumes and make-up, but shifted her focus unto Madam Cope.

I started to wonder if she accidently took whatever it was that made Alice so hyper.

We all sat down in the chairs in front of the desk and as soon as Madam Esme was behind her desk, she started blabbering about trivial things and gave us a more serious look.

"Why is it that I always have you in my office?" Madam Esme asked me, sighing slightly.

She didn't sound exasperated though, more like she was amused.

I gave her a half shrug. "Must be my rebellious phase."

Edward scoffed at that and muttered something under his breath. I didn't even bother to hear what he said. Madam Esme shifted her attention towards Madam Cope, not without raising her eyebrows at me.

"You know, after you came to me to tell me about the struggles your class is experiencing, I went and talked to the other teachers. It seems like the entire Junior class is having difficulties with finding their motivation. Not that the Seniors are any better when it comes to motivation, but they already know what to do. Anyway, I think I might have come up with a solution." Madam Esme's eyes were twinkling when she said that, giving her a slightly child-like look.

"I take it that you're thinking about picking up the idea that was discussed last year?" Madam Cope didn't sound the least bit surprised- more like she was already thinking about new arrangement, which she probably was.

An eager nod was her response. "I think it's about time that we changed things up a bit, seeing as we live in modern times now."

Madam Cope just nodded thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, I had no idea what they were talking about.

"So, how is this going to work? I can certainly not teach them entirely."

"I already had a talk with the other two head masters and they did have some good recommendations for us, so that won't be a problem."

"Have you thought of any specific topic?"

"I did as much research as I could for now and while I don't actually have a concept, I'm definitely certain that we should highlight our best students."

I just looked back and forth between the two women, waiting for them to drop a hint so I could figure out what the hell they were talking about.

"I'm sure that we can arrange that. Does this change mean that I have to let the two of them participate?"

Both teachers were now looking at me and Edward.

I involuntarily shrunk back when their gazes hit me.

"If it's not too much trouble for you, yes," Madam Esme said, almost apologetically.

"As a matter of fact, it is-"

"I have thought of a solution for that problem as well," Madam Esme cut her off, before Madam Cope could start her rant about how awful Edward and I were behaving in her class.

Actually, she could consider herself lucky that she had only Edward and I to deal with. There were many people that I could think of that would make her life much more frustrating that we did.

"They are going to have extra-classes with me from now on. Give me some time and if they still continue their childish behaviour in your class, we'll remove them both from Pas de Deux."

"What?" I protested right away. "You can't make me spend even more time with him than I already do. One hour a day is more than enough."

I got disapproving looks from both Madams.

Frowning, I leaned back into my chair.

"Bella, you should really stop kicking your second chance around like that. You might not get a third," Madam Esme lectured.

Second chance at what? At Ballet? It's not like I ever wanted one, Charlie was just being a bully by sending me here. I'd understand his radical choices if I was a drug-dealing kid who was whoring her way through life but since none of that was happening, he really could have just kept his mouth shut like he always did.

I had really been better off when my well-being had been the least of his concerns.

"We already have full schedules, so when should those extra lessons take place?" Edward asked.

"We're going to use your free time."

"But Mom-"

"I don't want to hear it."

"Is it really enough to just let them have extra lessons?" Madam Cope piped in, eying us sceptically.

"A personality transplant would help," I mumbled.

"A little attitude adjustment as well," Edward snapped back.

"My attitude is fine; it's you who's acting like a diva. Maybe you should get yourself some fucking Snickers."

"I'm the diva? You're the one who thinks too highly of herself and refuses to dance properly, yet I'm the diva?"

"Enough, you two," Madam Esme interrupted. "I'm changing the conditions a bit. You will not only have extra classes, you will also have to sit together at each meal and must be able to tell me one thing about the other every time I ask you. And don't think that I won't know when you don't sit together, I will keep an eye on you and I will inform Alice about this."

The fuck?

Was she even allowed to do that? What kind of fucked up teaching method was that supposed to be? It's not like I would hang out with Edward a couple of times and then suddenly fall in love with him.

"Mom-"

"I'll see the two of you tomorrow after your last class in Studio 6," Madam Esme informed us with a bright smile. "Now go and get some lunch. I'll text Alice right away what her new mission is."

She made a hand motion for us to leave and being too stunned, I just complied and got up. In the corner of my eye, I saw Madam Cope grinning smugly.

Leaving the office, I tried to ignore the awkward feeling creeping up on me. It was caused by Edward trailing slowly behind me, but not bothering to pick up his pace and actually walk beside me. The entire way to the cafeteria and then the table, which the others occupied, he was walking behind me in silence. It was quite unnerving.

As soon as I got my tray, I wanted to run away and scream at the top of my lungs, but Alice caught sight of us and waved us over. I inwardly groaned at that. Secretly, I had been hoping that Madam Esme was just messing with us.

"Well," Alice stretched the word unnecessarily, "How did it go?"

I scowled and plopped down in the chair beside Leah, who didn't look all too thrilled.

"Don't act like you don't know," Edward said, sitting next to his cousin, wearing an expression that was similar to mine.

"Is it always going to be this crowded at the table from now on?" Leah groaned.

"What, don't you like our company?" Emmett asked her, batting his eyelashes.

"What's there to like?"

Emmett gasped dramatically and put a hand on his heart. "We are a very lovable bunch. Jasper and his constant absentmindedness, Alice and her hyperactivity, Edward and his egocentric antics, Bella and her street swag, and let's not forget Rose and her obvious dislike of anything nutritional- like food, for example."

Now he'd done it.

I wasn't quite sure if I should be thankful that he took the focus off of me or if I should be scared because Rose's head snapped up and her face was pulling into an ugly grimace.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" she snapped at Emmett.

Emmett, realizing his mistake, looked at her with wide eyes and didn't respond.

"Maybe you should just stop speaking entirely, because no one finds you as funny as you think you are. Right?"

She looked at all of us, searching for signs of agreement. Instead she was met with three avoiding pairs of eyes. Jasper and Edward just watched the whole scene with something close to confusion.

"It wasn't a joke, Rose..." Alice started slowly only to trail off again.

Rose's expression changed to one of disbelief as she looked at all of us again.

"What is going on?"

"Well," I kind of stuttered, not sure how to say that in a sensible manner. "It's just that..."

"You don't eat," Emmett and Leah blurted out at the same time, saving me the effort.

"You've been avoiding food like a plague these past few weeks," Emmett supplied.

"And it's really starting to get weird," Leah added.

You could see Rose getting defensive when she responded, "Maybe that's because I have been feeling a bit off lately."

"Is that really all?" Alice pressed, although she sounded careful.

Rose whipped her head around to look at her. "Of course, that's all. What else is there supposed to be?"

Leah snorted humourlessly.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the pressure to be thin and beautiful and not to forget light enough for your partner to be able to lift you? You're not the first one with an eating disorder around here and you will definitely not be the last, but you should get help before you get too sick to dance. Your body is not going to cope much longer."

"I don't have an eating disorder," Rose screeched at the top of her lungs.

It seemed like everyone in the room heard her and every one froze. It was kind of eerie.

"No one is accusing you of having one. We're just...worried," I threw in, hoping to calm her down.

"You should all just worry about yourselves. I'm fine."

She got up and left, practically running out of the cafeteria. We all stared after her until she was gone.

"That could have gone a lot smoother if you ask me," Leah mumbled. Then she turned to me. "Want to hang out today? Jacob and Seth will probably not stop bugging me until I take you with me."

Leave it to Leah to be completely unaffected by all of this.

"Excuse me, don't you think we have more important issues to handle right now?" Alice asked.

"Oh right. So how did the talk with her majesty go?"

I didn't bother to respond. I knew that Alice was going to interrupt me, anyway. Sure enough, she didn't disappoint.

"We just more or less embarrassed Rose in front of the whole school; do you not care about that?"

Alice was reaching dangerous octaves again, but thankfully she wasn't loud enough for everyone to hear. Glasses would have started bursting if she was.

"We didn't embarrass her. Do you really think that anyone around here cares whether or not Rosalie has an eating problem? Half of the girls wish that she gets sick and needs to go home so they have less competition and the other half is probably dealing with some weight issues themselves. As for the boys, they only start showing mild interest when her body doesn't look as hot as it does now anymore. Some might even think this is a good thing because she'll be easy to lift. Face it pixie, we're the only ones who care and we just did what had to be done before she goes and destroys her body. She might be angry for a little while, but she'll get over it. Now please let me occupy my mind with more important matters."

Again with the stunned silence.

I wasn't really sure if it was a good thing to have this group of socially isolated and completely pure-minded people associate with Leah. Who knows what her boldness just triggered in Rose.

Feeling strangely compassionate, I got up and went to find Rose. Time to face the harsh reality of Ballet World. I was pretty sure that solving her problem would be a lot easier than solving mine.

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><p><em><strong>AN:**_**So that is the latest chapter. I hoped you liked it, I tried to be fast and efficient.**

**Now, more important things to discuss: This story has been nominated for the _Energize W.I.P. Award's_ **

**That's all thanks to you guys and I'm so grateful and even more excited (more like the other way around)! So if you feel like voting for this story, you can do so- I linked the page on my profile.**

**That was actually the only bit of important information I had to share. As always, special thanks goes to my beta justareaderfan, who was so kind and helped me complete this chapter.**

**Oh wait, there is something I need to say: I'm kind of having troubles naming this chapter, so I just decided to leave it up to you. If you happen to be typing a review anyway, just squeeze your idea in there and I'll chose the one I like. You can come up with a name for the next chapter too and I wll try to create a chapter that suits the title. **

**I know, interactive stories are a taboo on ff but I'm merely asking for ideas. So I'm not really asking you to create the next chapter for me, just a hint of what I could include.**

**Okay, that's all!**

**Now go on do some reviewing or voting, or maybe both- I won't mind ;)**


	15. Stories of the Past

_**A/N:**_**Okay, first off: I am insanely sorry for not updating for months. It's not like I forgot about all of you... it started with a simple writer's block and then kind of grew to an obsession for my original stories instead of fanfiction.**

**This particular chapter has been on my computer for quite some time now and after re-discovering my love of fanfiction, I finally decided to upload it.**

**I can't promise any regular updates with all the other things I am writing and this thing called Real Life meddling in every nw and then, but I will honestly try to finish this story.**

**As a matter of fact, I already started typing the next chapter, so hopefully it will be done soon.**

**Now without any further ado... go on ahead and read ( I have to say though, that this chapter is fairly short)**

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><p>Finding Rose was easier than I thought.<p>

After peeking into her room and then dashing through the corridors of the school, I eventually found her outside.

She was sitting on a bench by herself, her head tilted upwards. It looked peaceful enough, if it weren't for the fact that the streaks of tears were glistening in the weak sunlight.

"Mind if I sit with you?" I asked her as I approached.

Rose's eyes opened, darted in my direction and closed again.

She gestured for me to take a seat, which is what I did.

For a few moments, neither of us spoke. Honestly, I just didn't know what to say to her.

"You think I'm stupid, don't you?" she suddenly asked.

I had been surveying the surrounding are, so her question caught me off guard.

"Wha- No! What makes you think that?" I protested right away.

Rose turned her head to give me a pointed look.

I sighed.

"Well, I do think you're kind of an idiot, because I honestly don't see why you try so hard to lose weight," I admitted.

She let out a bitter laugh.

"In that case we can be idiots together."

"I'm not trying to lose weight."

"No, you're trying to be someone you're not."

I opened my mouth to respond, but there was nothing that I could say to that.

I couldn't tell her that she was wrong, not because I thought she was right- I just couldn't argue with it.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're completely fake," Rose added, "You just try too hard to push against everything, regardless of whether or not you're really bothered by it. It's like you want to be miserable and you want to fail."

I scoffed. "Who volunteers to be a failure? I'm not that crazy."

Rose raised her eyebrows at me. "Oh really, so you really are the worst ballet dancer in this school?"

"Should you even be calling me out on that? You're the one, who thinks that she's too fat."

"And you only seem to have an attitude problem once you're in a dancing studio."

"You are are trying too hard to be perfect."

"Well, you try too hard to not be perfect."

"I'm not perfect," I groaned.

"No, you just have a perfectly trained body, good feet and a genius dancer as mother, who taught you everything she knew."

"You're body is just as trained as mine is, seeing that you have been dancing for years. You're feet can't be that bad, otherwise you wouldn't have made it into ballet and my mother is dead, so there's not much use to her anymore," I snapped.

I somewhat expected Rose to just drop the issue then and be quiet again, maybe even apologize for bringing my mother up.

Not a chance.

She was a perceptive bitch.

"Don't think that I will pity you now," she ranted. "I think you have gotten more than enough pity. As you said, you're mother is dead and not you - so why are you giving up on everything?"

"Who said that I was giving up?"

"I just assumed that, seeing that you don't seem to have any goals for the future or any kind of motivation to carry you through the day. You just kind of exist and do whatever you can to pass time, but you don't really strike me as a passionate person."

I crossed my arms and squinted into the sun.

"Just because I don't feel the need to starve myself or dedicate my entire life to ballet, doesn't mean I can't be passionate about something."

"If you were doing something useful with your time, I don't you think your father wouldn't have needed to send you here. As far as I can tell, you're not much of a threat - let alone a criminal, so my guess is that you were just tagging along with those friends of yours. End of the story is that your father felt the need to throw you back into something you once did, in order to get you to do something with yourself."

"What would you know about that anyway?" I muttered, not looking at Rose.

"Been there, done that."

That statement caught my attention and I whipped my head around to stare at Rose in disbelief.

She just had a rueful smile on her face, looking at something far away.

I wasn't too sure if I should ask her about it or just ignore what she said. She didn't look like she wanted to tell me, but I was curious.

Rose solved my inner conflict by speaking up again, "I stopped dancing as well, when I was twelve - about to turn thirteen. Jasper and I had this ballet teacher, Royce, who taught us in the ballet studio right beneath his apartment.

"My parents paid him a lot of money to teach us both privately, so we wouldn't have to 'put up' with the other kids. He was a really good teacher, but I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable around him. Sometimes, he looked at me weirdly and other times his hands were lingering a bit too long when he helped me. I tried not to put much value to it, because he was my teacher and he was very nice to us.

"Then Jasper just had to get the flu. He was sick for almost two weeks, so I had to dance on my own.

At first everything was just like always, but each day Royce would let his hands wander a little bit more. I didn't think much of it, I was too focused on dancing."

Tears were starting to flow down her cheeks, as she told me her story. Knowing where this story was leading to, I really wished for her to stop, but she looked like she needed to get this out.

Wiping her face she continued,"One day, I twisted my ankle so he had to take me upstairs to his apartment to put some ice on it.

I remember feeling a bit flustered that he was being so caring and gentle, so when he kissed me, I didn't feel shocked or surprised - I was actually a little excited."

Disgust was clear to be heard in her voice and she balled up her hands in tight fists. I quickly rummaged through my bag and fished out a pack of tissues.

Rose smiled a watery smile when I handed her the tissues.

"I'm not going to tell you details, but you know what happened."

I nodded silently.

"Anyway, despite being excited at first, I also knew that it was wrong and it wasn't like I wasn't uncomfortable. Royce was just convincing me that it was okay and everyone was doing it. I was twelve and lived a completely sheltered life, so he could have told me anything and I would have believed it.

"It was only when I was back at home that the full weight of what had happened crashed down on me and I just broke down. I played sick for a couple of days as well, but when the doctor gave me an all-clear I had to go back to school and dancing lessons.

I tried very hard to pull myself together and I was really grateful that Jasper was there as well, but after one week, I couldn't do it anymore. Royce was suddenly acting all cold towards me and barely looked at me, just confirming that what I had done was wrong.

I asked my parents to take me out of the dancing lessons and they did. After that, I completely lost myself.

The first year was the worst, because I had to force myself every day to get up. Eventually, I came around and I thought that I was getting better. I had new friends and even had fun every once in a while. But the thing is that I didn't feel like I was really living. I didn't have strong attachments to anything and just didn't know what to do with myself. I just let myself be pulled along by my friends and whatever they liked, I liked as well. Whenever they found something funny, I'd laugh too. I didn't even do it on purpose, it was just an automatic response. I really felt like I was okay.

Unfortunately, I had picked the worst possible bunch of friends I could have picked.

When we were fifteen, everything was just about boys. Boys, boys, boys. You wouldn't believe half of the stuff that happens in private schools. Rich kids, get bored and look for something exciting to occupy themselves with. At that time, the opposite gender was the most exciting thing there was.

Of course, I just went along with it.

And since I was always a bit better... developed as my friends, I had guys lining up just to catch a glimpse of me. I started to enjoy that and felt really good about myself.

I started dating some of them and after being dumped a couple of times, I started to get depressed again, so I just gave in to their wants. The result was the same, but the boys were talking about me all the time and I felt like I was at the top of the world.

Thinking back, I'd love to bitch slap my fifteen year old self. Being titled as the school's slut, was definitely not one of my greater achievements."

Rose sighed and shook her head. She had stopped crying by now and kept ripping off small pieces of her tissue.

I cleared my throat, ridding myself of the lump that had been forming when she had told me her story.

She looked at me and her eyes widened.

"Jesus, I made you cry?" she exclaimed

With a frown, I reached up to touch my face and sure enough, I had cried without noticing.

"Sorry," I said, my voice kind of hoarse, "I just... it's so sad that you had to go through that... you don't really seem like you had to deal with something so severe. I guess, I kind of admire you for being able to fight all on your own, while I..."

"Oh, it wasn't like that at all. My parents caught me with a boy in my room, so they made me go to school with Jasper,"Rose clarified.

"Did you tell them?"

Rose shook her head fiercely. "I don't think that I ever will. You're actually the first person that I told."

Her admission made me feel a little strange. I wasn't used to people putting their trust in me, at least not that much.

"Even though, I carry the burden on my own I still get help from my friends. Honestly, I have no idea where and what I would be if Alice hadn't picked me up as her personal charity case," Rose added in a soft voice.

She was much calmer now, but still looked like she was a little on edge.

"Her personal charity case?"

Rose chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, when I started here she just walked up to me and took me under wing. She motivated me, kept me company and got on my nerves. Like she is doing with you now. She always claims that when she first saw me that she knew that I would become one of her closest friends. She's not judgemental or calculating and it's nice to have someone around who genuinely values your presence. Then again she can be a bit of a pain as well."

I could only nod in agreement to that. She really was a pain in the ass. Not to the point that I would kick her to the curb, but she definitely left me wondering if she didn't have any issues of her own to sort out.

"Surprisingly, even Emmett and Edward have been helpful to get me back on track."

My brows furrowed at that. "How the hell is Edward helpful to anyone?"

"Oh, he's not as awful as he seems." She shrugged.

"You of all people should not say that and expect me to believe it," I huffed.

"We didn't always dislike each other that much. Actually, I don't even dislike him. He's just getting on my nerves. Before we had to dance together we got along in some way or another. At least, I can always say for certain that he never once thought of me as anything different than another human being, disturbing his surroundings."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Kind of. He's weird and I don't get him at all, but he's not as shallow as most of the people here are. His only problem is that he spends way too much time in his head. I guess when you're the offspring of an artist and a scientist, you just have to get stuck in your own little world - he's just too smart for his own good."

"Are you telling me that he's some kind of genius?"

Rose shrugged and made a face. "What do I know? I never spent much time trying to figure him out. It gives me headaches."

Well, I knew that feeling.

It occurred to me then that Edward might just be completely misunderstood by everyone, but as fast as that thought crossed my mind, I tossed it away again.

No way that I was feeling any kind of sympathy for him. If he wanted to be the tortured artist I would not interfere.

"Now, I told you my sob-story and the emotional baggage that I'm carrying around, don't you think it would be fair to return the favor?"

I looked up at Rose, who didn't look back at me. She was frowning at the sky.

"I don't think you'd want to hear it," I mumbled. "And it's not like my story is all that bad. After hearing yours, I'd say that I might just be-"

"Stop!" Rose cut me off.

I looked at her in confusion.

"Don't try to downplay things and get to the story."

I sighed before I took a deep breath.

"Well, I used to live in Florida with my mom. It was just the two of us. My parents had never really been together, so I didn't know my father. I was always perfectly content with that, my mom took really good care of me and she was always there when I needed her.

We just lived in our own little world, filled with Ballet and nothing else really. It's crazy now that I think about it.

When I was fifteen, I got an offer from a few academies and even some companies. I was elated, because that is obviously what every Ballet dancer wants. My mom wasn't so keen on that though.

She always preached that I was too young to be part of the harsh world of Ballet. I didn't agree with her and we constantly fought because of that. It really put a strain on our relationship.

So one day, we argued again and I just sneaked out. I went to the dancing studio down the street just to get rid of my frustration. I don't even remember how long I had been there."

I let out a bitter laugh at the memory.

"Then all of a sudden I heard a shot and a scream. The voice just sounded so familiar, that my heart really stopped for a moment. I went out to see what was going on. When I rounded the corner, I found my mother lying there."

My eyes started to fill with tears as I remembered the dead body of my mother. Even in death she had still looked beautiful. It was quite disturbing.

Rosalie patted my back, softly.

"So your Mom was shot? I still can't believe that no one knew about that," Rose muttered.

I shrugged.

"The police didn't announce her death, it would have meddled with their investigations or something. My mother wasn't even supposed to be the victim. Apparently, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and that thanks to me."

"Oh Bella."

Before I knew it, Rose had thrown her arms around me and squeezed me tightly.

I awkwardly hugged her back and we stayed like that for a few moments.

When she let go of me, she let out a small laugh.

"I guess this covers the pity part of today," she remarked.

"I'd say."

"And we're currently ditching classes," she added with a look on her watch.

"That is true," I agreed once more.

"So now that we know each other's sad sad pasts, what do we do? I guess we should sit here some more and comfort each other, but I'm honestly not in the mood for that."

I made a thoughtful face. There was nothing distracting that I could really think of at the moment.

Mainly, because my entire emotional center was still occupied with processing Rose's story and having to tell my own.

Rose seemed to sense that and sighed.

"You know that it's not your fault that she is dead, right?" she asked me. Her tone held no evidence whatsoever that she had just been crying a few minutes ago.

I was a little impressed with her ability to just put these things behind her and not let them bother her.

"Of course it is my fault. She wouldn't have been anywhere near this alley if it wasn't for me being self-absorbed and stubborn. I just left the house, not once thinking about my mother who would be worried about me. It was such a selfish thing for me to do and I got punished for it, but so did my mother."

Rose let out a long and deep sigh.

"You can't control the actions of others. Your mother died, because someone pulled the trigger on his gun and not because you ran off," she insisted.

I just made a face at that.

"There you guys are."

Rose and I both turned at the sound of Leah's voice.

She happily skipped toward us, Seth and Jacob close behind her.

"Don't just disappear like that, you had us worried."

She first looked at Rose sternly and then at me.

"Where are the others?" Rose asked, ignoring the look she was given.

"They didn't want to ditch class, so I brought my own searching team."

"Shit," Rose exclaimed. "I'm missing class." Just a few moments ago, she seemed to be cool with that little fact.

She jumped up and looked like she was about to race into the building if it weren't for Leah stopping her.

"Too late to rush in there now. You might as well ditch for the rest of the day."

"Why would I even consider to do that? What am I supposed to do with all that time?"

Rose looked at Leah expectantly.

I clapped my hands together at this, happy to get to do something fun.

"We should go and eat something," Leah proposed.

Instantly, my high spirits sank. So much for doing something fun.

"Are you serious?" we all chorused.

Jacob, Seth and Rose looked about as impressed with this idea as I was.

"Yep," Leah responded, all too happily. "We need to get Super-Barbie back to a healthy diet and I'm ...oh who am I kidding, I just ate."

"And I'm not hungry," Rose grumbled, crossing her arms defiantly.

"But you have to eat something," I protested.

How she was capable of going without food for so long was seriously beyond me.

"I will," she promised, looking at me in conviction. "At dinner."

Leah and I exchanged a look, neither of us sure if we should take her word for it.

Seeing how we could not really force food down her throat and could still call her out on her promise at dinner, we both shrugged and let the topic go.

Although, it didn't go unnoticed by me that Rose had yet to tell me why she was putting herself through this 'diet' in the first place.

"So what do we do then?" I asked, looking at no one in particular.

"Well," Jacob started in his husky voice. "It's sunny. Let's go for a ride."

* * *

><p>I really, really missed Phoenix now. Maybe not as much as on other days, but the familiarity of this situation just reminded me so much of home that I almost felt like crying.<p>

Jacob's idea of going for a ride had been readily accepted once he, Seth and I explained what exactly that entailed.

Whenever my friends and I had absolutely nothing to do with ourselves, we had squeezed into someone's car and just drove of. Without a goal or a specific time in mind.

Usually we had all taken Felix' truck, since it could easily fit us all – as long as half of us sat on the truck bed.

Each trip we had taken was memorable for some reason or another and I really missed the feeling of freedom that came with standing on the truck bed with spread arms on the highway.

This was not so bad either. Rose had handed over the keys to her convertible to Jacob – quite begrudingly, I might add – and gave him a quick set of instructions that came with driving her car.

Jacob had looked like he was only half-way listening, much too taken by the beauty of her car.

Now we were all driving through Washington with the stereo cranked up and feet dangling out of the car.

I had no idea where we were, but by the looks of it, we were miles away from any kind of town.

The last small town we had driven through had been our only stop since we took of hours ago.

Leah had bought three bottle of champagne, which were all empty by now.

Jacob was the only sober person in this car – no one was that reckless – although he probably reeked of alcohol as well, because he had been showered in champagne by Leah.

Rose had seemed like she enjoyed herself and momentarily forgot her troubles, letting her hair fly loosely in the wind.

She was getting along just fine with Seth, but had a bit of an attitude towards Jacob. I guessed that she was just not too thrilled with having someone else driving her baby.

Seth had spent most of the drive amusing us with perfectly memorized programs of his favorite comedians.

"You know, it must have been ages since I have last watched the sun set," Rose sighed over the tunes of her classical playlist.

The boys and I had been completely ignored when Rose and Leah decided to put it on.

Now that we were driving back to the Academy, worn out and happy, I was appreciating the music much more than anything else.

It was the perfect background to be watching the red glowing horizon.

"I think, I never really watched the sun set," I mumbled in response."It's sort of romantic."

"Aww, are you turning soft on us now?" Leah joked.

I didn't reply to that.

With everything that had happened today, this was a welcome ending to my day.

Watching the sunset with my friends stirred a comforting sense of release in me – something like leaving all troubles behind.

The drive back was more of a quiet nature, only few words were exchanged.

It was as if everyone was lost in their on thoughts.

I listened to Rose and Leah's murmured conversation about Ballet.

They were talking about past performances that they had seen, lulling me into sleep.

But even sleeping, I could still hear them and their words took form in my dreams – creating beautiful dances in my mind...

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>AN: _If you ask me, it's kind of obvious to see where exactly I had stopped typing months ago and just picked it up again a few weeks ago. **

**I hope that you don't dislike the chapter too much.**

**Some revelations have been made, people grew closer and Edward is sadly not in this chapter.**

**But I will get to that.**

**Now, I would be grateful for a few reviews even if you're just telling me how much I suck for not updating. Anything is fine, it'll motivate me to type**


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